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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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THE 


PARABLES 


OF 


THE LORD JESUS 

ACCORDING TO S. MATTHEW 


ARRANGED, COMPARED, AND ILLUSTRATED 




s. 


THOMAS RICHEY, S.T.D. 

Vv 

mark’s-in-the-bowerie professor of ecclesiastical history in the 

GENERAL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, NEW YORK 



T a uvaTrjpia rr/s /3a<n\eia$ rtov ovpavdv. 

— S. Matt, xiii. u 



1888 



Copyright, 1887, by 

E. & J. B. YOUNG & CO. 



TROW’8 

PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COMPANY, 
NEW YORK. 


u 

ro 



TO 

Zhc IRame 

ABOVE EVERY NAME 
IN GRATEFUL ACKNOWLEDGMENT 
OF THE GOODNESS AND MERCY WHICH HAVE FOLLOWED ME 
ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE 








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PREFACE. 


It was not until about the close of the second year of 
His sacred ministry that our Lord began to teach regularly 
by parables. It is true that we meet with parabolic sayings 
and illustrations, not only singly, but in pairs, before this. 
Nothing, however, is to be found of regular, systematic 
teaching by parables, as at a later period. We naturally 
ask, Why was this ? Why should the earlier ministry be 
hortatory and didactic in its character, while the later is 
parabolical and marked by reserve ? 

The difference between the two methods of teaching is 
to be accounted for by the change which, as the second 
year of our Lord’s ministry was drawing to its close, began 
to manifest itself in the attitude of the nation and its 
leaders toward Him. So long as He was content to be 
recognized simply as a prophet, the Jewish people heard 
Him gladly. But no sooner did He begin to assert Elis 
higher claims, and to intimate that He came not only to 
fulfil the old, but also to establish a new order, than op- 
position began to manifest itself. The Scribes, and Phar- 
isees, and the leaders of the Theocracy, were ready to 
acknowledge that Jesus, like John the Baptist, was a 


IV 


PREFACE. 


teacher come from God. When they had to face the 
question, however, of the founding of a universal kingdom 
upon the ruins of the old Theocracy — that was more than 
their national pride, and the exclusive claims based upon 
their descent from Abraham, could possibly bear. Now, 
it was at this crisis, and with the special object of bearing 
witness to this larger truth — the dawn of a new spiritual 
order, and the setting up of a universal kingdom — that 
our Lord began to teach regularly by parables. There 
are, indeed, occasional glimpses given at an earlier time, 
in more than one notable parabolic saying, of the spiritual 
character of the new era, and of the difference between 
it and all that has preceded it, whether among Jews or 
Gentiles ; but it is not until the latter half of the three 
years’ ministry that this becomes the great burden of our 
Lord’s teaching, and is dealt with systematically and in 
detail. 

Even as we are accustomed to make use of pictures, and 
to illustrate by means of object-lessons things not familiar 
to untutored minds, so did our Divine Master deal with His 
disciples and the men of His day and generation. When 
He is compelled to deal with things that are in their very 
nature spiritual and supernatural, He has recourse to images 
taken from nature and selected out of the sphere of man’s 
moral and spiritual relationships, in which, as well as by 
means of outward things, God reveals Himself to us, in 
order that He may make the mysteries of His kingdom 
plain to the feeblest apprehension, while the gainsayer is 


PREFACE. 


V 


left without excuse. As the relations hereafter to be rep- 
resented are new, and bound up with His own divine per- 
son and work, it is fitting, also, that they should find a new 
vehicle of expression. Not as the completion of the old, 
but as the beginning of a new dispensation, does Jesus 
now set Himself forth. It is no longer as a Jew to Jews 
that He speaks, but to men as men. It is meet and right 
that the language which He makes use of, accordingly, 
should not be that of any school, or sect, or party, but a 
language taken from the symbolism of nature itself, and 
common to all men. The appeal He makes, in like man- 
ner, is to the conscience and heart of man, and not to the 
intellect or logical faculty, for the reason that the kingdom 
which He comes to establish in the world is a spiritual 
kingdom, and one whose foundations are to rest upon the 
moral convictions of men. 

Parables, it will be seen, then, are neither more nor less 
than pictures taken from nature and the divinely ordered 
relationships of human life, which the moral sense, still 
true to nature, is capable of seeing through at a glance. 
They are pictures, moreover, which man’s moral nature, if 
only actively engaged in the duties which belong to the 
sphere of home, and the every-day occupations of domestic 
life — steward and house-servant, and laborer in the field ; 
or taking part in things belonging to commercial pursuits, 
as trader, or debtor, or creditor ; or called to discharge the 
higher duties of king, or judge, or advocate— can readily 
appreciate and understand. Then, as in a picture, with a 
view to the heightening of the effect, we have the contrasts 


VI 


PREFA CE. 


of light and shade; so in the parable (more especially, as 
we shall see, in the parables of S. Luke) it is not the di- 
vinely established relationships only that are used for pur- 
poses of illustration, but oftentimes the perversion of these 
relationships by sinful men, in order to secure the effect of 
greater contrast. 

But if the parable, because it is true to nature and to the 
divinely ordered relationships which Christ, in taking our 
nature upon Him, came to sanctify and renew, is capable 
of being used as an educator of the moral sense in things 
above nature, the opposite of all this is true. If so be 
that the light which lighteth every man which cometh into 
the world, through carelessness or pride, has become dark- 
ness, and, as a consequence thereof, the soul has lost the 
power to see God as He manifests Himself in nature and 
the moral relationships of our human life, then the para- 
ble acts as a moral test; it is of the nature of a judgment 
upon unbelief, and conceals rather than reveals the truth. 
It is not that our Lord does not will men to come to the 
knowledge of the truth, but in dealing with those who 
through their own wilfulness have become blind, He puts 
the higher truth in such a way as to convict the gainsayer 
and prove that it is not the heavenly mystery he is dis- 
posed to reject, but he has, in truth, become insensible to 
the teachings of nature itself, and is no longer faithful to 
the moral instincts which God implanted in the soul at 
the first. Nor does the parable thus only serve the pur- 
pose of a moral test in the case of the blind and the hard- 
ened, but it is for the very same reason capable of being 


PREFACE. 


vii 

used to help the weak and develop the moral sense where 
even the least spiritual insight still remains. As it sug- 
gests rather than reveals the truth, it is of the nature of a 
riddle or enigma (S. Matt. xiii. 24) which stimulates curi- 
osity ; and is to be valued as an educational help which 
puts the inquirer into the way of finding out for himself 
the truth. 

The parable, it will be seen then, is of the nature of a 
picture as to its form ; while in substance , and by reason 
of the materials out of which it is composed, it is of neces- 
sity a moral instrument, which probes to the very heart 
the moral receptivity of the hearer. It is never to be for- 
gotten, that the beginning to teach by parables marks a 
moral crisis in the relation between our Lord and the men 
of His day and generation. It is the presence of the moral 
element which gives to the parables properly so called, 
as contra-distinguished from the parabolic sayings of the 
earlier ministry, and the paroemeac discourses of S. John, 
their distinctive character, and that in three ways more 
especially : 

1. As a moral test, discriminating between such as had 
eyes to see, and those who had become blind. We have a 
notable instance of the use of the parable as a moral test 
in the case of the multitudes who had begun to follow 
Jesus in His journeyings, but were influenced by mixed 
motives in their attachment to His person. As many as 
had profited by the earlier teaching were made to feel the 
necessity of self-appropriation, as opposed to mere me- 
chanical and outward devotion, and were prepared by the 


Vlll 


PREFA CE. 


intimations thrown out under the figures of the buying 
of the field, and the purchase of the pearl of great price, 
for the great act of self-surrender, which in the course of 
events now rapidly hastening on was not long hence to be 
required of them ; while such as were moved by a spirit of 
vain curiosity, and were led to join themselves to the band 
of disciples because they ate of the loaves and were filled, 
were made to feel that it was no longer safe to tread in the 
footsteps of One who reckoned persecution among His 
promised rewards, and who demanded the absolute sur- 
render of the most coveted earthly possessions for the sake 
of His kingdom. 

2. As a blind, forcing upon the attention of concealed 
or avowed enemies truths they were not disposed to hear, 
and leaving them without excuse. The most notable in- 
stance of this use of the parable is the series of apologetic 
parables in S. Matthew, in which the leaders of the The- 
ocracy are forced to pronounce their own condemnation, 
and their hypocrisy is at the same time mercilessly ex- 
posed. The parable of the Good Samaritan, in S. Luke, 
is another instance of the same kind. Here, again, the 
moral element in the parable works in two ways. While 
the exposure is of a kind to take away from gainsayers 
the least shadow of excuse, it is never, as Goebel observes, 
absolutely repellent, but always appeals to a remnant of 
susceptibility to the truth in their own conscience. 

3. An educational purpose, by speaking of things un- 
seen, through things seen and familiar. It is to be re- 
membered that the Apostles and first disciples, with all 


PREFACE. 


IX 


their earnestness and simplicity of character, were men 
who had been brought up under the influence of Jewish 
prejudices and traditions. They were under the influence 
of carnal and worldly notions regarding Christ’s reign and 
kingdom. The parable furnished the needed picture, or 
object-lesson, which the imperfectly developed spiritual 
apprehension of the disciple could readily grasp. It was 
a kind of teaching which was calculated to linger in the 
memory, and gave the opportunity for time and experience 
to make plain the things which at first were seen only as 
in a glass. 

Jebb, in his “ Sacred Literature,” and Archbishop 
Trench, in his “ Studies in the Gospels,” direct attention to 
the way in which the parabolic sayings of the earlier min- 
istry run almost invariably in pairs, and are so arranged 
that the second and supplementary illustration presents 
the subject under treatment in a new light, and serves the 
purpose of bringing to view some deeper aspect of the 
truth. It would be natural to expect that if the supple- 
menting of one illustration by another was characteristic 
of our Lord’s earlier parabolic teaching, the same care 
would be taken to guard against partial and one-sided 
views of truth when He began to teach regularly by para- 
bles. Nor are we disappointed in looking for a recurrence 
of this notable feature of our Lord’s teaching. Meyer 
(without attaching any very special importance to the 
matter) observes that the word i rapa^oXy, when techni- 
cally applied, is hardly ever to be found in the singular, 


X 


PREFA CE. 


but almost invariably in the plural, in connection with a 
series or cycle of parables, forming, as it were, a complete 
discourse. Accordingly, we find that the parables in the 
Synoptic Evangelists lie (for the most part) in groups, and 
are arranged in such a way as to furnish us with a system 
qf connected teaching on the cardinal mysteries of the 
kingdom of heaven. It appears upon examination that 
the parables of S. Matthew fall into four groups, and are 
so arranged that in each series a separate and distinct sub- 
ject is illustrated. S. Mark and S. Luke also have their 
groups of parables ; not, however, to the same extent as 
S. Matthew. It is needless to say, in connection with 
such a method of arrangement, how all-important it is to 
familiarize ourselves with the principle of grouping and ar- 
rangement, wherever it occurs, if we would arrive at any 
definite understanding of the subject under consideration 
in all its parts and details. We are dealing, as it were, 
with a series of allegorical pictures. The displacing of any 
one member of the series must of necessity have a fatal re- 
sult. If it be true that it is the method of our Lord’s 
teaching, for the most part, first to present one aspect of 
His kingdom in one parable or picture, and then to sup- 
plement it by bringing to light another and different view 
of the subject in a twin picture, and soon in regular succes- 
sion in a series of three, or four, or even seven pictures — 
then, to neglect the order of arrangement, or to miss the 
exact point at which the subject is taken up anew in the 
second or supplementary parable, must inevitably result 
in our mixing and mingling things which ought to be kept 


PRRFA CE. 


XI 


separate, and to come short, at last, of our being able to 
grasp in order and detail the significance of the whole. 
Newland, in his “Postils,” observes that many of our 
Lord’s parables are arranged in sequences, with a view that 
wherever there is any opening for misapprehension in one 
parable, the deficiency may be supplied and the misappre- 
hension removed in the parable that follows after. “ It is 
very possible,” the same writer adds, “ for us to do our- 
selves serious injury by taking as a detached and complete 
lesson that which our Lord meant merely as a part of 
one.” Stier, in his “Words of the Lord Jesus,” and Arnot, 
“ On the Parables of our Lord,” have given special atten- 
tion to the matter of grouping and arrangement. Eders- 
heim, in his “ Life of Christ,” appreciates the value of fol- 
lowing up the connection and progress of our Lord’s teach- 
ing by parables, but excuses himself from working it out 
in detail as beyond his task. We have made, as it will be 
seen, the matter of grouping and arrangement a cardinal 
feature of our own interpretation, and with wonderful re- 
sults. 

The failure, hitherto, to secure anything like an exact 
numbering and scientific arrangement of our Lord’s par- 
ables, is one of the most noteworthy lapses in the his- 
tory of New-Testament interpretation. And no wonder, 
when we consider the utterly vicious nature of the meth- 
ods pursued. Any arrangement or numbering of the par- 
ables, based upon the notion of a harmonizing of the gos- 
pels, must inevitably result in failure. It is now needless 


PREFACE, 


xii 

to say that the four gospels are as diverse, one from another, 
as the four rivers which flowed out of the Garden of Eden, 
or the four living creatures in Ezekiel’s vision. What pos- 
sible proportion is there between the members of an eagle, 
an ox, a lion, and a- man ? They are, indeed, homologues 
one of another, and are all built up on the model of a typ- 
ical vertebrate skeleton ; but beyond this they have no 
likeness to each other. It may, without hesitation, be af- 
firmed, then, that an indiscriminate treatment of our Lord’s 
parables, without regard either to the particular evangelist 
in which they are to be found, or to the order in which 
they are presented, is a method which is as unscientific in 
its origin as it has proved hitherto unsatisfactoiy in its re- 
sults. We cannot, without serious loss, both in the way 
of numbers and the ignoring of characteristic traits, lump 
together in one indiscriminate mass the parables of S. Mat- 
thew, S. Mark, and S. Luke. They are as diverse, one 
from another, as the gospels in which they stand. S. Mat- 
thew wrote for the Hebrews, and his parables have upon 
them a theocratic stamp. S. Luke wrote for the Gentiles, 
and his parables have more of a human and universal char- 
acter. The very same parable, it will be found, upon care- 
ful examination, is capable of an altogether different inter- 
pretation, according as it is applied to the Gentile in the 
state of nature, or the Jew in covenant relationship with 
God. The “ stray sheep ” of S. Matthew becomes a “ lost 
sheep” in S. Luke, for the reason that the Jew is within 
the fold, while the Gentile stands without. Judgment, 
like an undertone, prevails in S. Matthew; mercy and for- 


PREFA CE. 


xiii 

giveness are characteristic of S. Luke. The cardinal defect 
in the attempts at classification of the parables, on the part 
of expositors generally, is that they are based upon some 
artificial principle of arrangement, arising out of the doc- 
trinal prepossessions of the author, and are not the result 
of the following up of the order of the gospel narrative it- 
self. The consequence has been the confounding of the 
parables of S. Matthew and S. Luke, and the serious loss 
of all the advantages of the cross-lights which the several 
evangelists furnish by their diverse methods of treatment. 
The plan of taking the parables as they stand in the evan- 
gelical narrative itself, and treating each gospel by itself, 
would seem to be the only way of arriving at a satisfactory 
result. 

It is not, at a first glance, easy to draw the line between 
the parabolic sayings and illustrations of the earlier and 
the parables (properly so called) of the later ministry. 
But the explanation of the difference upon consideration 
is plain and simple enough. Words, as Hooker has re- 
minded us, have at first a general and then (when the time 
for differentiation has taken place) a technical signification. 
napa/ 3 o\r) is used in general to designate every utterance 
containing a comparison of any kind. Maxims taken from 
common life, like “ the blind leading the blind,” and “ the 
putting of a new patch on an old garment,” are called 
parables (S. Luke v. 3 6; vi. 39), because they are capable 
of being used to represent a corresponding truth in the 
sphere of the religious life, But in the later ministry the 


XIV 


PREFA CE. 


broader and more general meaning of the term is made to 
assume a more technical signification, for the reason that 
what was before occasional and accidental now becomes 
the distinctive feature of our Lord’s teaching. The differ- 
entiation took place when, in consequence of the growing 
hostility of the Scribes and Pharisees and the leaders of 
the people, Jesus was compelled (as a rule) to adopt the 
plan of speaking by similitudes and comparisons, and not 
as heretofore, plainly and directly. It is true that in the 
parabolic sayings of the earlier ministry, the images are 
often of profound significance ; but it is not true that the 
images used were purposely chosen with the express inten- 
tion of proving the moral fitness of the hearer, and of test- 
ing whether they are walking in the darkness or in the 
light. The marked characteristic of the later, as contrasted 
with the earlier ministry, is that it moves all the time in a 
sphere which is deliberately chosen, with the design of car* 
rying reward to the inquiring, and penalty to the froward. 

There is, then, to sum up all that is needful to be said 
on this portion of our subject, a larger and a more restricted 
use of the word parable. In its wider sense it covers any 
comparison or proverbial saying ; in its narrower and more 
technical signification it is limited to that particular kind 
of teaching by pictures, deliberately chosen for moral pur- 
poses, which characterizes the latter half of the three years’ 
ministry. 

It was, we may believe, not without design that our 
Lord Himself has left us an example of the true method 


PREFACE. 


XV 


of interpreting His parables. It is often said that we are 
not to look for a hidden meaning in every detail of the 
parable; but how are we to reconcile such a statement 
with the careful working out of the details of the parable 
of the Sower, by our Lord Himself ? There is undoubted 
truth in the saying of S. Chrysostom, so often quoted : 
ouSe %pr) irdvra ra iv rais 7rapa/3o\ae ; Kara \e%Lv irepiep<yd- 
£ eaOai , dXka tov a/coirov pLaOovres, hi ov crvveredr], tovtov 
hpeireaQai real pLrjhev r iroXv r irpa r ypioveZv 'irepairepa), and we may 
accept it as confirming the opinion already expressed, that 
as in a picture there are prominent features, and subordi- 
nate accessories, so in the parable there are things of great- 
er and of less importance. Notwithstanding, we must en- 
dorse the strong affirmation of Goebel, that “ strictly 
understood there is no mere byplay and empty ornament in 
the parables of Jesus.” It is, in our judgment, little short 
of blasphemy to entertain “ the opinion that Jesus wove 
particular ingredients into His parables which serve no 
purpose, or no other purpose than to give the narrative a 
more pleasing form.” “ On the contrary, it must be pre- 
supposed that all particulars in a parable, in so far as they 
are not meant to find a special counterpart in the inter- 
pretation, have, nevertheless, some important position of 
their own in the connection of the whole, and thus serve 
the end of the whole, either helping by delineation in de- 
tail to picture a truth vividly, or fitting as essential in- 
gredients into the systematic structure of the narrative. 
The expositor must, therefore, never say this or that par- 
ticular lies outside the compass of the intended compari- 


XVI 


PREFACE. 


son, and therefore cannot be explained, without at the same 
time indicating what purpose it serves in its place in the 
connection of the whole.” The rule thus laid down by 
Goebel is admirably stated, and we have made it our aim 
to adhere to it in every case in our treatment of the par- 
ables. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Preface, . . . . . . iii 

I.— THE SEVEN FUNDAMENTAL PARABLES: 
Addressed partly to the Multitude , partly to the Disciples. 
Introduction, ....... 3 

I. The Sower and the Divers Kinds of Soil, . .13 

II. The Wheat Oversown with Tares, . . *45 

III. The Man and the Mustard-seed, . . . .81 

IV. The Woman and the Leaven, . . . .99 

V. The Treasure Hid in the Field, . . . . 125 

VI. The Merchantman and the Pearl of Great Price, . 147 

VII. The Draw-net and the Final Sorting, . . . 163 

II.— PARABLES OF FREE GRACE: 

Addressed to the Apostles as Administrators of the Kingdom. 

Introduction, ....... 177 

VIII. The One Stray Sheep, . . . . .185 

IX. The Gracious King and the Unmerciful Servant, . 201 

X. The Laborers in the Vineyard, . . . .221 


XV 111 


CONTENTS. 


III.— APOLOGETIC PARABLES : 

Addressed to the Chief Priests and Elders. 

PAGE 

Introduction, ....... 245 

XI. The Two Sons, . . . . . .251 

XII. The Wicked Vine-dressers, .... 263 

XIII. The Marriage of the King’s Son, . . . 283 

IV.— ESCHATOLOGICAL PARABLES : 

Addressed to the Apostles on the Last Things. 

Introduction, . . . . . . . 317 

XIV. The Two Stewards, ...... 329 

XV. The Wise and the Foolish Virgins, . . . 345 

XVI. The Talents given in Trust, .... 375 

XVII. The Sheep and the Goats, .... 399 


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THE SEVEN FUNDAMENTAL PARABLES. 


It is the aim of S. Matthew, in his first seven parables, 
to set forth in outline the fundamental laws of the king- 
dom of heaven, in its relation (i) to the world at large, 
and (2) to its disciples in particular. The number seven 
in this connection is not without meaning. Whatever we 
may think of such a use of numbers, the number seven to 
the Jew was a sacred number, and full of mystical signifi- 
cance. S. Matthew, it is to be remembered, wrote his 
Gospel for the people of the Jews, and in his arrangement 
and grouping of our Lord’s first great parabolic discourse, 
he would be understood as intimating, that in these seven 
parables we have a discourse, on which the Holy Spirit 
has set his seal as perfect and complete in every particu- 
lar. We are not at liberty, then, to regard these first seven 
parables as ordinary parables; we may not disintegrate 
them, or treat with neglect the organic relation which 
they bear to each other. They are a complete whole in 
themselves. They hold a fundamental place in our Lord’s 
teaching. They are so arranged as to give us a general 
outline or sketch of the kingdom which Christ came to es- 
tablish in the world, from its first beginning, through the 
varied stages of its development and growth, to its ultimate 
consummation and close. 

Nor is it without significance that four of the seven 
parables were addressed to the multitude upon the shore, 
while three were spoken privately to the disciples in the 


4 


THE SEVEN FUNDAMENTAL EATABLES. 


house. Four is the number of the world, and gives its 
impress to the parables which have to do with the uni- 
versal relations of the kingdom; three is the number of 
the sacred name, into which the disciples, at their entering 
into the kingdom, were baptized and sealed unto the life 
everlasting.* 

THE FOUR PARABLES. 

The first four parables addressed to the multitude bear 
upon their very face in the choice of the images selected — 
seed-corn and leaven — the two main features of the sub- 
ject they were designed to illustrate, viz., the growth and 
extension of the kingdom of heaven in the world. 

In the Sower who has gone forth to sow, we have it de- 
clared that the first great step has been taken in the evan- 
gelical dispensation, through the preaching of 
pIraMe*™* th e wor< ^j U P and down the length and breadth 
of Judea. And the fact is not only declared, 
but the result is also intimated. In three cases out of four 
the result has been a failure. And this, as the parable de- 
clares, is owing to the nature of the kingdom. The in- 
strument of propagation is not to be the sword, but the 
word. It is a kingdom which is to be founded not upon 
force by an outward display of power, but upon moral 
suasion. As seed needs soil in which to strike root and 
grow, and the return in every case will depend upon the 
nature of the ground, so the word preached, being of the 
nature of “ a purely spiritual agency, is dependent on the 
condition of heart of those to whom the preaching comes, 
and must be just as widely different as the actual condi- 
tion of heart in the hearers.” t “ Not by the authority of 
law, not by some mighty display of power, but by germinal 

* See Archbishop Trench : The Epistles to the Seven Churches, p. 89. 

f Goebel. 


THE SEVEJV FUNDAMENTAL EATABLES. 


5 


truth, taking root in the minds of men, and unfolding them- 
selves into new dispositions and affections, into a new life 
with its corresponding fruits, is the kingdom of heaven to 
be established.” * 

“ The divine word is sown like grain which fructifies or 
remains unfruitful, according to the nature of the soil which 
receives it. Everything depends on the moral disposition. 
The soul, according to the manner in which it listens, may 
resemble the stony ground, or the trodden highway where 
no seed can germinate, or the field of thorns and thistles, 
or the good ground which, from a single grain, brings forth 
a hundred-fold.” t 

But if the kingdom of heaven, in the beginning, is to be 
founded upon moral suasion, so throughout all the stages 
of its development and growth it recognizes 
pJraMe C ° nd the fact of man’s moral probation. The found- 
er of the kingdom is not God in the plenitude 
of His power, but the Son of Man, whose it is, in the mys- 
tery of his incarnation, to overcome evil not by force but 
by moral agency. Already had there been introduced into 
the circle of the twelve, one Jesus knew not to be His, but 
the child of the devil. While, as Son of God, Jesus knew 
the end of the traitor Judas from the beginning, yet, as Son 
of Man, he bore with him, in order that he might himself 
fill up the measure of his iniquity, and go at the last to his 
own place. And so it is to be to the end. Satan, as long 
as time shall last, will dog the footsteps of the sower. 
False prophets, at the bidding of the evil spirit, will rise 
up in every age to counterfeit the true. Nor will it be pos- 
sible to root them out. Error is to be overcome by the 
manifestation of the truth. The kingdom of Christ, and 
the kingdom of Antichrist cannot be separated by any di- 
* Cottrell. t Pressense. 


6 


THE SEVEN FUNDAMENTAL PA FABLES. 


viding line, so that men can recognize at a glance the one 
from the other. The power to discriminate depends upon 
moral considerations, not upon external appliances. It is 
part and parcel of the condition of time, and the law of 
moral growth, that Satan, whose power is broken but his 
reign not yet ended, is able, by reason of their inexperience 
and immaturity , to deceive those who are advancing on- 
ward through trial and manifold experiences to perfection ; 
loyalty to Jesus, even unto death, is the only safeguard 
against Satan’s wiles. When the mystery of probation is 
ended, and the mediatorial kingdom of the Son of Man 
brought to a close, then God will send his angels and sep- 
arate between the true and false. The temporal economy, 
with its intermingling of good and evil, light and darkness, 
will give place to the millennial era ; and “ the righteous 
will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father.” 

“ In the first parable we see represented the foundation 
of the Church. We see how the Son of Man walked the 
earth and sowed the seed of the word of God. We learn 
how, from the beginning of His ministry to the end, He 
met a varied experience, according to the efforts made 
by the enemy and by men to frustrate the growth of the 
good seed, until at length the Lord found a fruitful 
ground in which the seed could thrive and give the prom- 
ise of a rich return. In the next parable we see the 
Church, under the management of the servants to whom 
the Lord, after the accomplishment of His personal work 
on earth, intrusted the care of the growing seed during 
the time of his absence. Their task is to watch over and 
keep the field of the Lord, that the wheat may ripen un- 
disturbed, and that in the time of the harvest they may 
receive their full reward.” * 


Thiersch. 


THE SEVEN FUNDAMENTAL FA FABLES. 


7 


It will be seen that the second parable is the comple- 
ment and counterpart of the first. The action of the one 
(so to speak) follows close upon the action of the other. In 
both the spiritual conception of the kingdom , with its limita- 
tions and seeming failures , is set over against the worldly 
and carnal Jewish notion of outward and material conquest . 

But while insignificant outwardly upon its first appear- 
ance, and subject to hindrances, both from within and 
from without, the kingdom is destined to un- 
P frabie hird dergo, in process of time, a great and wonder- 
ful change. Now a mere garden product, and 
seemingly the least of all the seeds that are in the earth, 
it will break out on all sides beyond the limits of its Jew- 
ish inclosure, and become in the process of growth a 
world-over-shadowing-tree, to which all the nations of the 
earth will fly for refuge, and beneath the shelter of whose 
branches they will find rest. And the secret of the power 
by which the kingdom will be able to overcome all that 
withstands it, whether from within or without, is to be 
found in the fact that it is not to be (as might be inferred 
from what has been said) a mere sporadic growth, but is to 
assume the form of organized life, by virtue of the sacra- 
mental union which Jesus, in the mystery of His death, is to 
bring to pass between Himself and His chosen apostles. 

Nor is the Church only, through the strength of its 
organism, to provide a shelter for the nations ; 
plrabfe° urth ^ * s destined also, in process of time, to trans- 
form human society, and to leaven it with 
the principle of a new life. Believers are not to stand 
apart from the world, like the schools of the ancient philo- 
sophers, or after the fashion of John the Baptist and the 
prophets in the accomplishing of their peculiar work of 
preaching repentance ; they are to mix and mingle with 


8 


THE SEVEN FUNDAMENTAL FA FABLES. 


the world, and, by their personal influence, they are to 
quicken and mould society, and build up a new civitas 
Dei in the world. This parable again, it will be seen, is 
supplementary to that which goes before it. “ Whereas 
in the first, the kingdom is described as growing by some 
internal process, in the second, we are reminded that its 
extension is not only automatical , but, in this respect, 
differs from the growth of a plant ; that there must be, for 
the propagation of the Gospel through the mass of man- 
kind, a ministry, in which human powers and human will 
(as represented by the woman) shall be exercised. As 
leaven will not spread of itself entirely without kneading, 
so is this external agency necessary for the complete ex- 
tension of the kingdom, and therefore part of its order.” * 

THE THREE PARABLES. 

We are now to see the glass reversed. It is no longer 
the kingdom in its relation to the world, but the kingdom 
in its relation to its disciples which is hereafter 
pJrabfef th to be presented for our consideration. And by 
the disciples here, we are to understand more 
especially the Twelve, for it was to them in private that 
the three concluding parables were addressed. The disci- 
ples are represented as men who, while at work in the field, 
come unexpectedly upon hid treasure. The change in the 
image employed indicates that we have no longer to do 
with the growth and extension of the kingdom, but with 
the kingdom as already an established fact, and recognized 
by persons who have come to know and appreciate its 
value. It is laid down, then, as a fundamental law of min- 
isterial vocation, that they who would secure the treasure, 
must pay for the field in which it lies concealed, by ex- 
* Cotterell, 


THE SEVEN FUNDAMENTAL EATABLES. 


9 


changing for it all that they possess. The Christian min- 
istry as a field of labor demands the absolute and entire 
surrender of all secular aims and callings, and the consecra- 
tion of body, soul, and spirit to this one thing. It will be 
noted that the fifth parable takes up the subject precisely 
at the point where, in the previous parable, it was broken 
off ; the hiding here corresponds to the hiding there. 

But if there are those who, like the first called, were 
fortunate enough to find, there are others who to find will 
have to seek. The kingdom in its relation to 
pIrMe Xth those who, like S. Paul and Justin Martyr and 
S. Augustine were in search of the highest 
good ( summum bonum ), is compared to a pearl-merchant, 
whose duty it is to test precious stones ; and who, as in 
the case of those who found the hid treasure, after finding 
one pearl of exceeding value went and sold all that he 
had that he might buy it. Christianity claims to be an 
absolute religion. It cannot admit other gods to be wor- 
shipped, nor can it recognize other teachers besides Christ. 
He who would follow Jesus as His disciple, whether he be 
Jew or Gentile, must give up all for Him, and labor exclu- 
sively for the extension of His kingdom in the world. It 
will be seen, again, that these parables are complementary 
of each other. As in the preceding series the seed sown 
springs up in the form of men in the second parable, so 
here the treasure in the second stage of advancement be- 
comes a pearl-merchant. The Gentile, as well as the Jew, 
has found that for which he was in search, but, in finding 
it, there enters in an element of discrimination and com- 
parison which did not enter into the reception of the faith 
on the part of the first disciples. 

The last compares the apostles and their successors to a 
sagene or draw-net, cast into the sea, and taking within its 


IO 


THE SEVEN FUNDAMENTAL PARABLES. 


sweep fish of every kind. It is no longer the land, but the 
sea with which we have to do. The pearl-fisher prepared 
us for this. The apostles in the exercise of 
pIrab S ie™ nth their vocation are to launch out into the great 
sea of nations. It is deep-sea fishing to which 
as a body they are called, not the casting of the hand-net 
in the river or the pond. And in fishing they are not to 
indulge their private tastes by seeking for any particular 
kind of fish, but they are to be willing to receive all that 
will come into the net, whether they be bad or good. “ The 
scene here described was often witnessed by Jesus and His 
disciples on the shores of the lake of Tiberias. Indeed the 
four chief disciples, the first quaternion of apostles, had 
been called from this very occupation to the corresponding 
office in the kingdom of heaven. ‘Follow me,’ Jesus said, 
‘ and I will make you fishers of men.’ The results of the 
apostolic ministry were also a second time, after the resur- 
rection, illustrated by a miraculous draught of fishes. The 
ministry, therefore, is expressly marked out by the seventh 
parable as being the agency to which several of the series 
refer as necessary for the permanence and extension of the 
kingdom. And whereas from the parable of the tares it 
might be inferred — for all earthly analogies can but imper- 
fectly represent those mysteries of the kingdom — that the 
evil which should be intermingled with the good, and can- 
not be entirely separated, would be the result only of false 
doctrine and hostile agency, here we are taught that the 
very net of the kingdom itself incloses both good and bad ; 
that while the true ministers of the kingdom endeavor by 
all means to gather in the souls of men, the good and the 
evil will be taken together, nor can the separation be made 
until the net is full, and the work finished.”* 

* Cotterell. 


I. 


£Iic jSoiuer amt ttxc giocrs |viutts of J>oiX. 





I. 


£Ixc jsauw ixud thx gixxefcs %ixxds of Moil. 


THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN FOUNDED UPON MODAL 

SUASION 


Behold, a (the) sower went forth to sow ; 
and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the 
way-side, and the fowls came and devoured 
them up : some fell upon stony places, where 
they had not much earth ; and forthwith they 
sprung up, because they had no deepness of 
earth ; and when the sun was up, they were 
scorched; and because they had no root, they 
withered away. And some fell among thorns ; 
and the thorns sprung up, and choked them : 
but others fell into good ground, and brought 
forth fruit, some an hundred-fold, some sixty- 
fold, some thirty-fold. Who hath ears to hear, 
let him hear. 

• ••••• 

Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. 
When any one heareth the word of the king- 
dom and understandeth it not, then cometh 


the wicked one, and catcheth away that 
which was sown in his heart. This is he 
which received seed by the way-side. But 
he that received the seed into stony places, 
the same is he that heareth the word, and 
anon with joy receiveth it : yet hath he no 
root in himself, but dureth for a while ; for 
when tribulation or persecution ariseth be- 
cause of the word, by and by he is offended. 
He also that received seed among the thorns 
is he that heareth the word ; and the care of 
this world, and the deceitfulness of riches 
choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. 
But he that received seed into the good 
ground, is he that heaieth the word, and 
understandeth it ; which also beareth fruit, 
and bringeth forth, some (one) an hundred- 
fold, some (another) sixty, some (another) 
thirty. — S. Matt. xiii. 3-9; 18-23. 


The silence of Holy Scripture not unfrequently is 
quite as expressive as its words. We have a notable 
illustration of this in the omission from this introductory 
parable, of a formula repeated without intermission in the 
parables which follow after. Why is the phrase, “ The 
kingdom of heaven is like,” etc., omitted where most of all 
we should have expected to find it ? The answer we 


14 


THE KINGDOM OF HE A FEN 


have not to go far to seek. Disciples must be made be- 
fore they can be gathered into a kingdom. The para- 
ble of the Sower has not to do with the organization of 
the kingdom, but with the preaching of the word — the 
first step in the evangelical dispensation. The word must 
first be preached before the kingdom can be set up. 

But while one formula is omitted, another, quite as sig- 
nificant in its way, is supplied. It is as a Prophet, not as 
a simple preacher, Jesus now appears : * so He opens His 
discourse with the old prophetic call to attention — Behold ! 
It is not an ordinary event that He is going to tell about. 
It is an event which marks a crisis in the history of the 
chosen people. It is an event which bears in its train 
separation and judgment, as well as salvation.f “ The 
sower ” — whose great function it is — “ has gone forth to 
sow” and what has been the result ? Far different from 
that which His followers had every reason to expect ; far 
different from what even now we can persuade ourselves, 
at a first glance, to believe. Three parts of the seed sown 
have come to nothing ; only a fourth part (and that with 
varying degrees of productiveness) has brought forth any 
fruit. The Scribes and Pharisees, and the leaders of the 


* “By such preaching as the Sermon on the Mount, He had accomplished 
the first work of spiritual fishing. He had cast the net. Now begins the 
second — the work of selection, and this He accomplishes by means of teach- 
ing in parables.” — Goebel. 

f “It was a time of division and decision. On the one side stood the 
Pharisees, . . . and the mass of the people, . . . increasingly in- 

sensible to His call to repentance ; and on the other side a little band of 
disciples . . . ready to do the will of His Father.” — Goebel. 


FOUNDED UPON MORAL SUASION. 


15 


people, have set themselves in array against the truth. 
The multitudes, who followed Jesus in the earlier stages 
of his ministry, have gradually diminished and left Him 
only with a little band of disciples in His train. Is this, 
then, the long-expected Messiah ? Are these the tokens 
of His triumph over the nations of the earth ? It is time 
these questions were answered. 

“ In opposition ” then, “ to the prevailing expectation 
that when the Messiah appears, He will set up the king- 
dom of heaven in glory, by means of a display of outward 
power, certain and universal in its effect,” Jesus now “ dis- 
closes the mystery, that the kingdom of heaven must be 
realized by means of a sowing which is dependent for its 
effect on the actual nature of the soil, and therefore by no 
other means than the insignificant one which they have 
previously seen in operation — of preaching the kingdom 
(iv. 23 ; ix. 35), the effect of which, by its very nature as 
a spiritual agency, is dependent on the condition of heart 
of those to whom the preaching comes, and must be just 
as widely different as the actual condition of heart in the 
hearers.” * The aim of the parable, in other words, is to 
point the moral that while it is God’s (since all creative 
energy and power are from Him) to plant the seed, it is 

* “ For as the result of the sowers’ labor is dependent on the condition of 
the ground, and since therefore only a portion of the seed he sows actually 
bears fruit, the success of Jesus in establishing the kingdom is dependent 
upon the bearing of the people among whom He labors, conditioned as that 
is by the disposition of their hearts. It was this ‘ mystery’ of the kingdom 
which Jesus desired to exhibit in the parable (Mark iv. n), namely, that the 
establishment of this realm should not, as the people expected, result from 
a manifestation of divine power influencing miraculously the outward life of 


i6 


THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 


for man to furnish the soil — the needful elements of moral 
character — in which the seed will strike root and grow. 

It will be seen from what has been said, that the name 
by which the parable is generally known among us is to 
some extent misleading. The soil, quite as much as the 
Sower, is the burden of the parable. The German title, 
“The Four Kinds of Ground” (viererlei Acker), may with 
propriety accordingly be added to our own. The two 
combined serve to preserve the historical idea on which 
the parable rests. It is first of all an explanation of the 
reason why the ministry of Jesus was, in a worldly point of 
view, a failure ; in its secondary application it furnishes the 
key to the mystery which underlies the dispensation of 
grace, in connection with the great fundamental principle 
of moral suasion. 

To appreciate the descriptive element in the parable we 
must call to mind what a Syrian field was. It was not 
like an English or American field, a piece of well-cleared 
ground. The Syrian field* was rather of the nature of a 


the people, and attended by unvarying success, but through the methods of a 
spiritual ministry, which, like the work of the sower, encountered many hin- 
drances, and was therefore in many respects unsuccessful.” — W eiss. 

* Dean Stanley {Sinai and Palestine , p. 426) tells us that he saw an exact 
counterpart of the field described in the parable, in a slight recess under the 
hillside by which the plain of Gennesareth is approached. “There was the 
undulating corn-field descending to the water’s edge. There was the trod- 
den pathway through the midst of it, with no fence or hedge to prevent the 
seed from falling here or there on either side of it, or upon it ; itself hard 
with the constant tramp of horse and mule and human feet. There was the 
good, rich soil, which distinguishes the whole of that plain and its neighbor- 
hood from the large hills elsewhere protruding to the lake, and which, where 
there is no interruption, produces one vast mass of corn. There was the 


FOUNDED UPON MORAL SUASION. 


1 


free, open common, with patches of thorns, and weeds, 
and ledges of hard rock, some covered with a thin soil, 
some actually creeping out, with, it may be, a broad irreg- 
ular track running across it — the unfenced passage of the 
caravans — and here and there only a spot of land at once 
fertile and unencumbered. In such a field there was no 
difficulty in the seed, at a single cast of the sower, falling 
upon all the four sorts of ground described in the parable. 
When it is said that “ some seeds fall by the way-side,” 
it is not meant that some of the seed fell, in an accidental 
way, beyond the proper limits of the field, along the high- 
way. This would require us to read “beyond the field” 
(7 rapa rov dypov), not “by the way-side” (7 rapa rrjv oBov). 
The way-side, as we have seen, ran through the centre of 
the field, and not along the outer border. It was a portion 
of the field just as much as the cultivated ground. It was 
a portion of the field, however, which through the con- 
stant passing, hither and thither, of foot-passengers, and 
the rolling of heavy wagons, had become hard and beaten. 
The soil was worn out and exhausted by constant expos- 
ure to the outside world. No ploughshare ever penetrated 
there : there was no use in trying to break it up and work 
it over. Whatever was cast upon such ground was sure 
to perish. It had no covering, and the birds of the air 
would be sure to pick it up, and fly off with it. The 

rocky ground of the hillside protruding here and there through the corn-fields, 
as elsewhere through the grassy slopes. There were the large bushes of thorn 
— the nabk, that kind of which tradition says the crown of thorns was woven 
—springing up like the fruit-trees of the more inland parts, in the very midst 
of the waving corn.” 


i8 


THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 


“ stony ground ” was of another kind, and yet not so very 
different after all. What is meant is not ground with 
stones in it (for stones rather serve to retain moisture and 
foster heat), but a rocky bottom (ja 7 rerpcoEr]), wdth a light 
covering of earth on the top. Soil there may be — good 
and rich enough of its kind — but there is not enough to re- 
tain moisture, and give the plant room to strike its roots 
deep. The consequence is that when the sun rises, and 
the rock underneath gets heated, the tender fibres of the 
roots are scorched, and the plant withers away. There is, 
in other words, too much heat. The warm, thin soil forces 
the vegetation, and the plant springs up prematurely ; * 
the heat of the sun, before it reaches noon-tide, draws off 
what little moisture there is, and the plant withers before 
the day is ended. 

The difficulty in the third case is not the desiccating of 
the soil by influences from without ; nor the preventing of 
taking deep root because of the rocky bottom from within : 
but the exhaustion of the soil by its being compelled to 
give its strength to the growth of other things — thorns 
and briers — in addition to the fructifying of the seed sown 
in it. Here the grain does not come up prematurely, but 
the stalk is thin and spindling. It gets neither sufficient 
moisture from beneath, nor enough sunlight from above. 
Such is the rank luxuriance of the thorns, into the midst 
of which it has been cast, that the thorns spring up and 
choke the seed before the time comes for the grain to form 
in the ear. In the three cases mentioned, it is not to be 


i^aj/erei\ev, a double compound. 


FOUNDED UPON MORAL SUASION. 1 9 

overlooked that there is an advance in the direction of the 
good soil. In the first instance the seed cast upon the 
way-side perishes without striking root at all ; in the case 
of the loose but scanty soil the seed springs up, only to 
wither away; in the deep, but not pure soil, there is room 
to take root and the stalk shoots up, but — in part from the 
drawing off of the moisture, in part from the shading of 
the plant from the sun, — the earing never takes place, and 
the promise comes to nothing. 

It will be seen that the advance in the description 
reaches its goal, when, in the fourth place, that kind of 
soil is mentioned which permits the seed to attain to 
actual fruit-bearing. Fruit-bearing, then,* is the final and 
only test. A fruit-bearing soil has three marks accord- 
ingly: in opposition to the first-mentioned, it must be 
loose, broken up by frequent ploughing : in opposition to 
the second, it must be deep as well as warm : in opposi- 
tion to the third, it must be pure and free from thorns. It 
is to be noted, moreover, that even in the case of the good 
ground the returns are not in every instance alike ; one 
part yields thirty-fold ; another, sixty-fold ; another, an 
hundred-fold. 

We have reason to congratulate ourselves, in view of 
the canons of interpretation laid down by critics, that our 
Lord in the interpretation of this parable has left us a key 
to His method of interpreting all parables. Who would 
have dared, in the absence of such a model, to suggest 
that we are to see a meaning in all the minute details of 
* Note the 8/) of verse 23. 


20 


THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 


the parable as He has given it to us, and are justified in 
making a particular application of each to different classes 
and kinds of men. “ Hear ye therefore the parable of 
Him that sowed,” * 


I. The Way-sown. 

“ When anyone heareth the word of the kingdom , and 
understandeth it not , then cometh the wicked one , and 
catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is 
he which received seed by the way -side.” The way-side are 
those who hear and do not consider — receptive, but not 
reflective. It is not enough that the word be received 
into the heart with satisfaction ; it demands a reflex action 
upon the part of the hearer, t and a putting together of 
the things heard, with a serious consideration of their im- 
port and significance. The word in the original ( vvvievTos ) J 
is that used to denote “ the faculty by which we mentally 
apprehend, and are enabled to pass judgment upon what 


* The true reading here is rod (nrelpuvros, in allusion to the <nr hpeiv, used at 
the opening of the parable, and not according to the altered reading rod 
(nreipot/ros, with mistaken reference to 6 <nreipuv. “The parable is named 
after the sowing, which is the subject, and not after a particular person sup- 
posed to be treated of ” (Goebel). 

f “The first class contains those . . . who have no affinity with the 

Gospel of Christ.” — G odet. 

% “ Plus est avvitvcu quam yivdaKeiv, yiv<&<riceiv est nosse, ovviivai, attente 
expenderc .” Cremer, Lex., p. 300, says 'Zvvi-qp.i as distinguished from are 6 vw, 
the sentient affection, and yiyvdxrKw, the intellectual act, is attributed to the 
Kapdia, and involves the intelligent penetrating consideration preceding de- 
cision and action, and has a religious moral force. 


FOUNDED UPON MORAL SUASION 


21 


is presented to us.” And in this connection we must not 
pass by the expression word of the kingdom . What the 
Jews expected in the coming of the Messiah was the es- 
tablishing of the long-promised kingdom of God in the 
world. But the popular notion of the kingdom was one 
utterly at variance with the kingdom which Jesus came to 
establish. Theocratic hope looked for nothing higher or 
better than temporal dominion over the Gentile world. 
A life of undisturbed enjoyment indefinitely prolonged, 
worldly plenty, a career of brilliant victory over all en- 
emies — these were dreams cherished by the great mass of 
the Jewish people. Preoccupied by such notions how 
could such comprehend the views of the kingdom set 
forth in the Sermon on the Mount ? It was only the few 
who could look beneath the surface and were prepared 
by the discipline of repentance and the ministry of John 
the Baptist, who were disposed to entertain the repre- 
sentation given of the true Messianic reign, and of the 
class of persons who are to be received into the kingdom 
of God. To choose between the “strait gate” and the 
“wide” could only be done as the result of reflection; to 
build not upon the “ sand,” but upon the “ rock,” required 
judgment and reflection. 

The great mass of those who crowded around Jesus 
in the earlier stages of His ministry were mere way-side 
hearers : they were carried away by the popular enthu- 
siasm, and when disappointed in the hope of the Mes- 
siah they looked for, they went away backward. But it 
is a mistake to speak of this class of persons, or of those 


22 


THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 


they represent in any age, as the greatly wicked.* “ The 
trodden path,” as Stier observes, “is, after all, not a rock.” 
Calvin says, pertinently, what might be more generally 
applied in dealing with Holy Scripture : “ In order that 
the admonitions of the parable may benefit us the more, 
it must be kept steadily in view that no mention is made 
therein of despisers of the word, but only of those in 
whom appears a certain measure of ‘ docility.’ It is to be 
remembered that it is said, even of the first class, that 
the word was * sown in the heart? + The heart, in Jewish 
phrase, was the faculty of moral receptivity. But when 
received by the way-side, the subject presented was not 
made a matter of reflection and consideration. It got no 
farther than the organ of receptivity. It was not taken 
into the inner shrine, where conscience sits as judge, and 
in the light of eternity weighs the consequences of actions. 
It was a mere matter of feeling without regard to the 
responsibilities involved in the way of choice and self- 
surrender. When we compare the interpretation given 
with the parable itself, we arrive at the same result. 
The way-side in a Syrian field, as we have seen, did not 
lie outside the field, but was part of the field itself. It 

* Gresswell makes this mistake. Stier and Bruce furnish the needful 
correction. 

f ‘ * Religion is present in man’s inmost being, prior to its reflex action in 
religious thought and feeling. It is the hearth on which the inward fire is 
kindled ; its place is in the centre of man’s being. . . . It is at once 
knowing, willing, and feeling because it is the matter of the whole inner 
man, of the 'root of his personal life, whether we call this mind, nature, or, 
as Scripture designates it the heart.” — Luthardt : Fundamental Truths 
of Christianity, pp. 151, 152. 


FOUNDED UPON MORAL SUASION. 


23 


differed in no respect from the other portions of the field, 
save in the fact that it was beaten down under the feet 
of the wayfarer, and smoothed and hardened by the roll- 
ing of the heavily laden freight wagons over it. The 
situation is an exposed one, and represents the loss which 
the spiritual life suffers by being continually left open to 
the influences of the world. The result is two-fold : there 
is (1) subjectively , the loss which comes from want of time 
for reflection ; and (2) objectively , there is the constant 
liability to have whatever good impressions, which as St. 
Luke has it, may at any time be made, removed by 
hostile influences of another kind. The “ birds ” fly 
away with the seeds which lie uncovered on the surface 
of the ground. But whether we have regard to the ob- 
jective or subjective element, the moral condition repre- 
sented is the result of external circumstances, rather than 
any positively evil life. When Goebel, after comparing 
the parable and the interpretation, tells us that we must 
not, on the ground of this clause (“ the fowls came and 
devoured them up ”), say that the birds of the air in the 
parable signify the “ devil and his angels,” and charges 
S. Luke with “ allegorizing ” when he does so, the objec- 
tion is not well taken. The parable does not confine 
itself to the earthly sphere, with its processes of growth 
and fructification, but penetrates also (in a pictorial way) 
into the supernatural sphere. Now it is the teaching of 
Holy Scripture that Satan, after that he was, by the 
triumph of the cross, cast out of the lower sphere, where 
he held the bodies as well as the souls of men in his 


24 


THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 


dominion, is still permitted to occupy the middle sphere 
of the air, and there has his habitation. He is called, 
accordingly, the “ prince of the power of the air,” and is 
represented as having principalities and powers in sub- 
jection under him. Jesus in the parable, then, and in 
the interpretation He has given us of it, asserts the reality 
of the supernatural world which girds us round about, 
just as much as He does of the reality of the laws of 
nature. He warns us, moreover, that to live and move 
continually amid things seen and temporal, is to live and 
move in a sphere where hostile powers are continually on 
the watch; and in leading such a life we are deliberately 
exposing ourselves to their influence. The pleasures we 
indulge in may be innocent pleasures : the business we are 
engaged in may be lawful business : but the fact remains 
that it is these things which make up the life of the 
world, and the god of this world uses them to keep us 
under his dominion, and by means of them effaces the im- 
pressions which the preached word makes upon the con- 
science and the heart. 

In modern life the class of persons represented by the 
seed sown by the way-side are those who like to go to hear 
the word preached, but whose whole habit of mind is 
worldly, who are wholly under the influence of things seen 
and temporal. The things heard are never really made 
the subject of serious reflection. The word they hear is 
not the “ word of the kingdom ” spoken by One who has 
authority over the conscience, and claims the undivided 
homage of the heart. It is a pleasant song, which soothes 


FOUNDED UPON MORAL SUASION. 


25 


the ear, and touches the feelings, but does not affect the 
life. Such persons may crowd our churches, but they are 
not to be considered as in any sense of the word “ good 
soil.” 

A notable feature of the parable is the way in which 
the different classes of persons in the interpretation given 
are designated. We have the Way-sown, the Rock-sown, 
the Thorn-sown, the Good-ground-sown.* The seed takes 
on the nature of the soil when the effect on the person is 
to be described. Goebel here gives the true explanation : 
“ Where the act of sowing is compared to that of preach- 
ing, there, of course, the seed, as the means and instru- 
ment of the sowing, corresponds primarily to the word as 
the medium of the preaching, while the person on whose 
ear the preaching falls corresponds to the field on which 
the seed is strewn. But the relation is changed directly 
the effect of the sowing is further compared to the effect 
of the preaching ; the effect of the preaching is an effect on 
the person of the hearer himself, and consists, so far as it 
is realized, in a transformation of his most peculiar and 
intimate personal life. It is therefore realized and mani- 
fested nowhere, but in and upon himself. Hence the man, 
who, as the bearer of the word, is, in the first instance, the 
soil which receives the seed ; on the other hand, as much 
as he does not put forth the effect of what he has heard 
as something different from, and alien to, himself (this 
effect rather being nothing else than a transformation and 

* 6 TTCLph tV oUv ffirapeis ; 6 eir\ rh Terpudri airapeis ,* 6 els ras anavGas 
(rirapeis ; 6 arl r^v 7 rjv t V p.a\)]v <rirapels. 


26 


THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 


re-creation of himself), may also be identified with the 
grain which is the product of the sowing. And the seed, 
which is, in the first instance the word, may also, where it 
no longer appears as the means, but as the result of the 
sowing — the grain which is the aim of the sowing — be 
just as well identified with the persons in whom the word 
heard is effective, as the principle of a new personal life.” 

II. The Rocky-ground sown. 

“ But he that received the seed into stony places , the 
same is he that heareth the word , and anon with joy re - 
ceiveth it . Yet he hath no root in himself ; for when 
tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word , by 
and by he is offended The class of persons represented 
by the rocky ground are not content to hear only ; they 
also receive. It is not said of such, as it was said of the 
way-side hearers, that they were content in a passive way 
to have the word sown in their hearts ; they give it a fa- 
vorable reception at once,* and gladly too. It is the case 
of an emotional, and, at the same time, a susceptible nat- 
ure. But it would be a mistake to regard such a nature 
as one certain to fulfil its early promise ; the opposite is 
likely to be true. The defect in persons of a quick, 
emotional temperament is that they have no root in them - 
selves . Root is fixed principled To have root in one’s 

V 

* “ evOts belongs to juerci — Goebel. 

f “The root striking downward with the seed of the word, finding its way 
to the conscience, the abiding will. On the surface of each man’s soul are 


FOUNDED UPON MORAL SUASION. 


27 


self is to have an experimental knowledge of the truths of 
the Christian religion, not to receive them on the testi- 
mony of others. Those who have had experience among 
the negro race tell us that they are open to religious im- 
pressions to an extraordinary degree. In times of relig- 
ious revival, when one in a crowd becomes excited, hun- 
dreds will immediately fall under the influence; it strikes 
like a flash of lightning. But the effect is as transient as 
it is quick. Such persons have no root in themselves.* 
Their conviction is not a matter of judgment, but of feel- 
ing. It is the difference between building on the shifting 
sand, and digging down deep until we secure a firm foun- 
dation on the Rock of Ages. It was said of the way-side 
hearers that while they received in a passive way, the word 
into their hearts, they did not make it a matter of consci- 


his feelings, his imagination, and, we may add, his mere intellectual under- 
standing. Far deeper than these is the moral part, the conscience — the 
moral sense — the will, what we often call the ‘principle.’ The word excites 
the feelings, the hopes, the fears, but it finds no conscience, no deep-rooted 
preference for goodness and truth on which it may lay hold, and so it cannot 
take root in the man.” — S adler. 

* “A man who has been touched only on the surface of his soul by a re- 
ligious movement . . . hath not root in himself, in the faculties con- 

stituting personality — the reason, conscience, and will — which remain hard, 
untouched, unpenetrated by the fibres of his faith ; his root is in others, in 
a prevalent popular enthusiasm. He is not only irpisucupos in the sense of 
being temporary, but in the sense of being a creation of the time, a child of 
the Zeitgeist. He comes forth as a professor of religion ‘ at the call of a 
shallow enthusiasm, and through the epidemic influence of a popular cause.’ 
And this explains his temporariness. When the tide of enthusiasm subsides, 
and he is left to himself to carry on single-handed the struggle with tempta- 
tion, he has no heart for the work, and his religion withers away like the 
corn growing on rocky places under the scorching heat of the summer sun.” 
—Bruce. 


28 


THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 


entious discrimination and judgment ; it is now added 
that each man for himself must appropriate the word, and 
make it his own, in his own way. Men’s souls differ just 
as much as do their faces. The experience of no one hu- 
man soul can ever be exactly the experience of another. 
We cannot live another person’s life, however good or ex- 
cellent it may be ; we must live our own, however weak 
and imperfect. The word appropriates in every soil the 
elements peculiar to that soil ; we must yield to it that 
which belongs to ourselves — our own special characteris- 
tics, and not another’s. Without this there can be no 
personal religion ; where this is wanting, whatever the 
warmth of feeling, “ strong temptation, either in, the shape 
of pain or pleasure, will be yielded to, and the transient 
affection will pass off as the morning dew.” 

In two ways this is likely to happen. The falling away 
will be the result either of sore trial (0Xl\jn<;) or of persecu- 
tion (buoy fios). As in nature, so in grace, certain things 
are necessary for rooting and securing fixedness of princi- 
ple. Temptation and trial, if there be anything to be 
learned from the experience of Abraham and Joseph and 
David, are no accidents of the religious life ; they are con- 
ditions of its growth and development. Witness-bearing 
in the midst of an evil world, as Jesus testifies in the Ser- 
mon on the Mount, will always bring tribulation — envy, 
evil report, solitude, as in the case of Joseph — in its train. 
It was the persecutions the early Church suffered which 
confirmed it in the faith ; it was the opposition of heretics 
which forced the Church to formulate the Creeds. Evil 


FOUNDED UPON MORAL SUASION. 


2 9 


has its mission : temptation has its fruits. The one is in 
the hand of God, and cannot really harm us, if we trust in 
Him ; the other is in His control, and He will not suffer 
us to be tempted above that we are able to bear. To 
minds unprepared — in the case of moral natures, where 
there is no deep conviction of sin, and, as a consequence, 
no sense of need of discipline — the thought of trial, temp- 
tation, loss, bodily pain and sickness, persecution and suf- 
fering for the truth’s sake are causes of offence.* They 
stumble at them and fall away when the time comes for 
them to be subjected to them. And yet the sun with its 
noonday heat is not more necessary to the ripening of the 
grain than these things are to the perfecting of the Chris- 
tian life. The special characteristics of this second class 
are admirably well stated by Goebel when, in his compar- 
ison of the parable and its interpretation, he says : “ And 
like as it is involved in the nature of the too shallow earth, 
that the effect of the sowing there comes at first quickly 
to light in the grain springing up forthwith, while the 
grain, directly its capacity of life is tested by the heat of 
the sun, withers away, because it has no root ; so it is im- 
plied in the nature of superficial hearers, that in virtue of 
the excitability peculiar to them the effect of the word 
comes quickly to view, since they receive it with visible 
joy; but when it becomes necessary to approve themselves 
its followers, under the pressure, the tribulation or perse- 
cution inevitably befalling them for the word’s sake, then 

* 2/ccM/5aAi£e<r0«t, though passive in form, has here an active signification. 
Cp. 2 Cor. xi. 29. 


30 


THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 


they at once fall away, because, in their character as fol- 
lowers of the word, they are not firmly grounded in them- 
selves.” “ These persons,” says Dr. Hammond, “ take 
Christ, but under a false person ; either they take the 
promises only, and let Christ alone ; or they take Christ 
the Saviour , but not Christ the Lord , and are willing to 
be served by Him, but never think of serving Him.” It 
may be added that it is by an exceedingly subtle power 
of analysis that the light soil and the rocky bottom are 
found together. Feeling, not regulated by principle, has 
for its result hardness of heart.* 

III. The Thorn-sown. 

“ He also that received the seed among thorns is he that 
heareth the word , and the cares of the world , and the de- 
ceitfulness of riches, choke the word and he becomes the un- 
fruitful .” The third class brings to light the truth that 
in receiving the word there are dangers to be feared from 
within as well as from without. It is sad, indeed, after a 
morning bright with promise, to decline and pass away, 
just as the sun begins to reach the zenith. But quite as 
sad is it to be able to appreciate the value of a Christian 
life, and in measure to strive after it, and come short at 

* “The second are the superficial, but excitable natures in whom imagi- 
nation and sensibility for the moment make up for the absence of moral feel- 
ing. They are charmed with the novelty of the Gospel, and the opposition 
which it offers to received ideas. In every awakening such men form a con- 
siderable part of the new converts. But in their case the word soon comes 
into conflict with an internal hindrance, a heart of stone, which the humilia- 
tion of repentance and the love of holiness have never broken. ” Godet. 


FOUNDED UPON MORAL SUASION 3 1 

the last, because we have tried to serve two masters ; and 
have entertained the thought that a double is better than 
a single heart. The change in the preposition from eVt to 
ets, in the characterizing of the third class, is very signifi- 
cant. The seed when it is sown does not, as it were, fall 
upon the ground, but into thorns. The thorns have al- 
ready gained possession of the ground, and the seed, when 
sown, has not even the opportunity afforded it of a fair 
competition. When the shrub comes forth it is puny and 
weak, because the strength of the sod has been already 
exhausted ; and it is deprived of the benefit of the sun- 
light by the rank growth which overshadows it. The 
soil is deep enough, but its strength has been exhausted. 
The plant has some vitality, indeed, but not enough to 
make fruit. It is a character not wanting in depth or 
force ; its defect is a lack of single-mindedness and earnest- 
ness of purpose. This world is a subject of anxious care* 
as well as the next. As compared with the character rep- 
resented by the good ground, it is the difference between 
Lot and Abram. It is a condition of attaining to any- 
thing like perfection in the Christian life that we seek 
first the kingdom of heaven. We must have faith to be- 
lieve that the “other things” will be added. We must 
cast all our care upon the Lord, and not anxiously fore- 
cast the morrow, saying what we shall eat, or what we 

* /xe pifiva, “care,” is the oppressive, burdensome part of this earthly life, 
whereby the soul is distracted and divided, as in the case of Martha. “ The 
deceitfulness of riches (air6.Tr) rov irA ovtov) represents the alluring side of 
life, which, in a delusive manner, seems to satisfy the cravings of the soul 
after possession. Olshausen. 


32 


THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 


shall drink, or wherewithal we shall be clothed. It was 
to test the sincerity of those who at the first sought to 
be reckoned among His disciples, that Jesus required of 
them, as in the case of the rich young man, to sell all that 
they had and give to the poor. The reason why the care 
of this world is fatal to growth in the Christian life, is 
that it brings in its train a desire for the accumulation 
of wealth ; and they who will be rich fall into a snare. 
The two things are joined together by the connective 
particle “ and ” ( kcli ) in the parable. They are, as it were, 
parts of a whole ; the one follows close, by a law of neces- 
sity, upon the other. What begins in care ends in fasci- 
nation. The attempt to get rid of care about the things 
of the world, by the pursuit of wealth, is, in verity and 
truth, to undertake to follow a “ will-o’-the-wisp,” through 
moor and fen, to our own undoing. There is but one way 
to get rid of worldly care : we must cast it upon the Lord, 
and let Him care for us. Money only breeds more cares ; 
the lust of other things enters in, and the end is like a 
drowning man gasping for breath. Effort after effort is 
made to get free : the better life struggles for existence, 
and then, in very feebleness, gasp after gasp, strangled, as 
the parable says, it perishes. “ The word,” in the case of 
the third class, “becomes unfruitful.” How, after all that 
has been said, could it be otherwise ? How can peace be 
where there is anxious care ? How can devotion and 
loving surrender be, where there is a lusting after other 
things ? Covetousness is idolatry. How can we serve 
the world, and be of it, and at the same time serve Christ, 


FOUNDED UPON MORAL SUASION. 


33 


and be in loving sympathy with the simple, the outcast, 
and the poor? How can faith grow stronger, when we 
are daily becoming more dependent upon the things that 
minister to our love of ease and comfort and self-indul- 
gence ? How can we be brave and courageous and self- 
denying, when the manners and customs of the world in 
which we daily move, foster feebleness, and self-preserva- 
tion, and the gratification of the flesh ? Lot, in his fort- 
unes and in his end, is a notable example of the dangers 
which beset a man of a double heart. Balaam is another. 
Wesley warned his followers against the dangers which he 
saw approaching in the growth of riches, and, as a conse- 
quence, conformity to the world. Results have proved 
that his warnings were greatly needed. Methodism, since 
Wesley’s days, has declined, and if we ask for the reason, 
we shall find it in the subtle connection between the sec- 
ond and the third classes in the parable. The great mis- 
take of Methodism has been trusting too much to the 
emotional element. What one has said of the tendency 
of the present day is especially true of the preachers of 
Methodism. “ There are hosts of preachers and teachers 
amongst us who, as soon as they hear of some persons re- 
ceiving the word with joy, immediately put down and 
publish it, that so many persons are * saved.’ ” * If we 
would do thorough-going work in bringing souls to Christ, 
we must go down beneath the surface, and by careful hus- 
bandry eradicate the attachments to other things, which, 
unless they are cut away by putting the axe to the root 

* Sadler. 


3 


34 


THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 


of the tree, will, after a while, spring up and strangle 
whatever is sown among them. “ ‘ The thorns sprung up’ 
because the roots had not been thoroughly cleared away 
by careful husbandry.” Joy, then, it is to be observed, 
will not take the place of penitence. The thorns must 
first be cleared out before the soil is fit to receive the seed 
and to bring forth fruit to perfection. 

IV. The Good-ground Sown. 

“ But he that received the seed into good ground is he 
that heareth the word and understandeth it ; which also 
beareth fruit , and bringeth forth , some an hundred-fold , 
some sixty , some thirty .” It is the first time, strange to 
say, that the ground (rrjv fyrjv) is mentioned. We have 
had mention made of the way-side (ttjv o$6v) ; and of 
stony places (ra 7rerpd)Br)), and of the thorns (t<x? cucavdas;), 
but now, for the first time, the ground is mentioned. The 
implication is that the ground in the first three instances 
had been changed, either by external or by internal causes, 
into something different from its original constitution. 
It had been transformed into a highway, or a patch of 
rocks, or a thorn-brake. In the interpretation, accordingly, 
it is not said of either the stony ground, or the thorns that 
the persons represented by them really understood the 
word, any more than the first class. This, indeed, is com- 
monly inferred, but it is not so said by our Lord Himself. 
To receive the word with joy is not to understand it. Nor 
is it said of the thorn-sown that they were in full accord 


FOUNDED UPON MODAL SUASION. 


35 


with what they heard, and took it in. It is only when we 
come to the fourth class that it is said the hearing is ac- 
companied with an understanding ( kcli gvvicov) of the word. 
Goebel, in opposition to Bruce, says rightly that “al- 
though it was only in the hearer of the first class that it 
was pointed out as a distinctive peculiarity that he under- 
stood not the word, still even in those of the second and 
third class the understanding really befitting the contents 
of the word is regarded as wanting ... It is true 
that in the second (' XcLfiftaveiv fiera and in the third 

case a reception of the word in some sense took place. 
But only the hearers of the fourth class actually receive it 
in the way in which it seeks to be received and ought to 
be received according to its nature.” 

Again, it is said of the ground which receives the seed, 
as contrasted with the soil that has been perverted and 
changed by internal or external influences, that it is “ the 
good ” (rrjv fcaXrjv) ground. But how can it with truth be 
said of any ground in which man’s fallen nature is in a 
figure represented, that it is good ground ? It is “ good ” 
ground not in the abstract meaning of the word, but in 
the sense that it retains and holds in its possession the 
moral qualities which are needed for the fructifying of the 
germinant properties hidden in the seed, the word of life. 
Our Lord not only here, but elsewhere, constantly makes 
a distinction between moral natures, not that he regards 
any moral nature as perfect, but some are better adapted 
than others, and in varying degrees, to the accomplishing 
of the work of giving to the seed of the word the elements 


36 


THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 


needed for its proper fructification and growth. He tells 
His disciples that they must become little children before 
they can enter the kingdom of heaven. The moral quali- 
ties of childhood, accordingly, are a better soil for the 
fructifying of the word than any other period of life. As 
the seed needs soil into which it is to strike root and 
out of which it is to grow, so the word assumes the exist- 
ence of a moral nature on the part of the recipient. If 
the kingdom of heaven be founded, as it is, upon moral 
suasion, it takes for granted a moral agent to whom it can 
appeal. The Gospel cannot be opposed to the law, for 
the reason that the economy of the Son cannot be in 
opposition to the economy of the Father. The Gospel 
takes the existence of the law for granted ; it would be 
no glad tidings if the man to whom it comes had not, 
by the law, found that he is a sinner. “ Hence,” Jesus 
says, “ no man can come to me except the Father, who 
hath sent me, draw him.” It is the law of moral obliga- 
tion, of which the Father in the economy of the Trinity 
is the source, which brings a man to Christ, and con- 
strains him to find in Him a Saviour ; and we shall ever 
keep nearer to Him as that law, enshrined in our hearts, 
compels us to fly to him continually for shelter. Edward 
Irving in his own inimitable way makes plain this por- 
tion of the parable. “ Those soils,” he says, “ which are 
the most productive, are called vegetable to distinguish 
them from sandy and clayey soils, and as their name im- 
ports, they are produced from a decay of a succession of 
vegetable productions. It is by much bearing in a lower 


FOUNDED UPON MORAL SUASION 


37 


kind that they obtain their fertility in a higher; for 
everything is so created and constituted of God as to be 
capable to fructify the seeds of some plant or other. The 
very rock, when exposed to the heat of the sun, you will 
find covered with a moss, then with a lichen, and then 
perhaps with a grass ; and when the plant, of whatever 
kind it is, hath come to perfection, and yielded its stem 
and leaves and fruit and seed — all these except the seed 
decay and resolve themselves into earth again, whereby 
another coating is furnished to the ground ; and so by 
much bearing a good deep soil is at length produced fit 
for the seed of the husbandman. In like manner is it in 
man, that by much bearing of fruit in the lower degrees 
of instinct and knowledge, of kindly feelings and honest 
practices, a soil in due time is produced, which will re- 
ceive and fructify the seed of the word of God, and bring 
forth the fruits of the Spirit.” A soil is good soil, then, 
when it yields to the seed the elements necessary to its 
development and growth. But in order to guard against 
the notion that a mere passive reception of the word is 
to be considered as sufficient — a kind of reception which 
might end either in mysticism or intellectualism — it is 
added, “ who to boot”* beareth fruit , unlike the man who 
received the seed among the thorns. The soil, in other 
words, in consequence of its entire and complete appro- 
priation of the word, becomes thoroughly impregnated, 
and so is enabled (in opposition to the imperfect appro- 
priation of the three classes already mentioned) to become 

* 5 4 , “expressive of self-evident result.” — B ruce. 


38 


THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 


a producer. The active and personal element is still fur- 
ther emphasized by the words in which with a kind of 
rhythmical completeness the parable ends. To bear fruit 
is, according to the original, “to make fruit” and that in 
varying degrees. “One” makes “ thirty ,” “another sixty , 
another a hundred” Again the moral element is marked 
by the different degrees in which the same class yields 
its returns. All persons do not yield the same amount ; 
there are different grades of moral capacity among the 
good, as there are different degrees of glory hereafter 
among the glorified. In the good ground, Alexander 
Knox says,* the three degrees are remarkable — an hun- 
dred, sixty, and thirty — as if corresponding to that three- 
fold description in Isaiah : “ They shall mount with 

wings, as eagles ; they shall run and not be weary ; they 
shall walk and not faint.” It deserves notice, that Holy 
Scripture has made a threefold distinction, both of evil 
and of good characters. The evil characters are “ the un- 
godly, the sinner, and the scornful ” (Psalm i. i). The 
good are “little children, young men, and fathers” (i S. 
John ii. 13). S. Jerome calls attention to the correspond- 
ence between the good soil and the bad, and to the part 
which the number three plays in both. The correspond- 
ence, indeed, is manifest, and yet there is a difference. 
In the case of the good soil we have not three different 
kinds of soil, but three varieties of the same soil. We 
do not accordingly reckon six different kinds of soil, but 
four. Different kinds of goodness there cannot be, for 

* Remains, vol. i., p. 451. 


FOUNDED UPON MORAL SUASION 


39 


good is of God, and God is one ; different degrees of 
goodness there may be, even as “ one star differeth from 
another star in glory.” “ In one way only,” Aristotle 
says, “ men are good ; in many ways evil.” 

It is curious to observe the difference between the earlier 
and the later interpreters in dealing with this portion of 
the parable. According to S. Chrysostom the hundred- 
fold, the sixty-fold, and the thirty-fold correspond to 
martyrs, virgins, and those in honorable wedlock. Theo- 
phylact finds, in the differing degrees, the basis of the well- 
known distinction made by devotional writers between the 
way of perfection, the way of illumination, and union with 
God. Whatever application we may be disposed to make, 
the principle on which the distinction is based, is the same, 
and may be stated in the words of the writer just quoted : 
“ While the germ of the spiritual life is given from above, 
and for every advance is dependent upon renewed acces- 
sions of Divine Grace, still the direction and culture of this 
life is like the life of the world, so subjected to our own 
free agency as to make improvement correspond to our 
own activity, and to the wise use of that we have re- 
ceived.” * 


* Alexander Knox. 


40 


THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 


NOTES. 

Ver. 3. — *0 ane Ipwv, not “a sower,” as in the Authorized Version, but 
“ the Sower.” The Sower is Christ Himself, and the thing described is “ the 
foundation of the kingdom under the New Testament” (Lange). “While 
proclaiming in this parable one of the fundamental laws of the kingdom of 
God, Jesus at the same time estimated the results of His ministry up to this 
date ” (Weiss). The accordingly, is emphatic (Stier), and has ref- 

erence to the work of the earlier ministry, which is now described in its re- 
sults. Meyer’s explanation, “ the sower, whom I have in view,” and Goebel’s 
“one whose business it is to sow,” without any personal reference, are both 
to be rejected. 

Ver. 4. — riapa tV oh6v, not beyond the limits of the field upon the way 
leading past the public road or king’s highway, but the strip of soil lying 
alongside the path through the field, and made hard by being trampled un- 
der the feet of men and beasts of burden. “ It is self-evident that by irapct 
rV 656v a portion of the field itself is meant to be characterized in accord- 
ance with the nature of its soil” (Goebel). 

Ver. 5. — *Eirl ra TrerpwdT}, “upon the rocky parts of the field, with the arti- 
cle, because the existence of such soil is assumed as something not unusual ” 
(Goebel). It is “not ground with stones on the surface ” that is spoken of, 
for stones are often beneficial to vegetation as retaining moisture, but “ a 
hard rock covered with a thin layer of earth, into which the roots could not 
penetrate, and from which they would derive no nourishment ” (Sadler). 

Ver. 6. — 'E^ar4ret\ev. The double compound is to be noted as very de- 
scriptive. Since there is no depth of earth, the grain “springs out and up 
forthwith.” 

Ver. 19. — The correct reading here is row ffirlipavros, not anelpovros, as 
in the Authorized Version. It is not the person of the sower, but his work, 
that is the subject of the parable. The “word of the kingdom ” (rbv \6yov 
rris fia(Ti\elas), which is here spoken of, calls attention to the fact that the 
ultimate aim which Jesus had in His preaching was to gather disciples into a 
polity or kingdom. It is the kingdom , both as to its nature and its claims, 
which is the proper subject of our Lord’s parabolic teaching. And first of 
all, it is to be noted that the kingdom of God within us does not rest upon 
mere sympathetic appreciation of its moral excellence, but must be made a 
subject of rational conviction as the result of reflection. It is not enough 
that it be “ sown in the heart,” as if we were mere passive subjects ; it de- 
mands attention, and we must have heart and courage to set our mind to 


FOUNDED UPON MORAL SUASION. 


41 


know what is required of us. It is the same thing in another way as the 
man described in the Sermon on the Mount, who, when he heard and did 
not, is described as building his house “upon the sand.” 

The phrase ovros eanv 6 irapa riju o8by airapeis has its explanation in the 
fact, that in the introductory parable the moral agent is regarded in the in- 
cipient stage as passive, and not active. The active agent is the sower. It 
is in the seed the creative energy is found. The recipient only furnishes 
the moral qualities for the seed to work upon. It is to be noted, however, 
that the moral sphere differs from the natural sphere in this — whereas in the 
natural sphere ‘ ‘ the effect of sowing is not an effect on the soil itself, ” in 
the spiritual sphere ‘ ‘ the effect of preaching is an effect upon the hearer 
himself, and consists, in so far as it is realized, in a transformation of his 
most inner and peculiar and intimate personal- life ” (Goebel). Hence, as 
Wordsworth notes, “all the evangelists use the masculine gender here, i. e . , 
they consider the persott as sown ‘ that is, the seed is not responsible for the 
use made of the seed ; but the person who receives the seed is responsible, 
and is therefore identified with it ; the seed passes into him, is moulded up 
with him, and assumes his nature ; it loses, as it were, its own gender and 
number , and takes his.” 

Ver. 21 . — ^Kau8a\l ferai here, although passive in form, is to be trans- 
lated, with Goebel and Lange, not “suffer an offence,” but “takes offence.” 
Meyer renders “ encounters a stumbling-block ,” i.e., a temptation to unbelief. 
Affliction proves a ir etpaepos, to which the man succumbs. “ Whatever 
hinders men from becoming the disciples of Christ, or discourages them in 
their new profession, or tempts them to forsake the faith lately embraced,” 
is in the New Testament regarded as a stumbling-block or snare put in 
another’s way, and is regarded as at variance with the principle that even in 
the doing of the right, and in the exercise of lawful liberty, we are bound to 
consider others as well as ourselves, and not offend the weak for whom 
Christ died. It is noteworthy that the verb ffKav8a\'i^erai is not found in 
profane writers, and the noun <ricdv8a\ov, found fifteen times in the New 
Testament, and twenty times in the Seventy and Apocrypha, is never used 
by classical authors. The idea of putting a stumbling-block, or an occasion 
to fall, in a brother’s way, never occurred to the heathen. 

Ver. 22 . — 'H meplp.ua rov aiuvos is the care belonging to the age or time, 
care for the earthly and perishable. “To this care nal subjoins y dirdry rov 
7 t\6vtov, i.e., the deceit, practised in man by riches, when a merely earthly 
and perishable good palms itself on him as an exceedingly desirable good” 
(Goebel.) 

Ver. 23. — “Os 8)7 Kapiro(pope?. The result sought for, but not found in the 
three classes mentioned, is at last (5)>) realized in the fourth class, where it 


42 


THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 


is to bring forth fruit. Erasmus touches exactly the force of the particle 
here — ut intelligas, ceteros omnes infrugiferos, hwic demum reddere fruc- 
tum.” In the last clause of the verse the substitution for the neuter of 
the relative (h fx4v . . . h 5e) (Bengel and Lahmann and Tischendorf) of 
the masculine of the article, 6fi4 v . . . 68e (with Grotius and Beza) would 
seem to be preferred. Goebel’s remarks on the construction of the inde- 
pendent sentence must be regarded as furnishing an answer to the objections 
of Bengel. 


II. 

JOte 'StHlxeat ©ixersoum uutli i’arcs. 



II. 

Will jeat ($vr&x&8wn xvitlx gavcs. 


THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN TO BE OF A MIXED CHAR- 
ACTER TO THE END OF THE WORLD. 


Another parable put he forth unto them, 
saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened 
(has been made like,) unto a man which sowed 
good seed in his field •’ but while men slept, 
his enemy came and sowed tares among the 
wheat, and went his way. But when the 
blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, 
then appeared the tares also. So the ser- 
vants of the householder came and said 
unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed 
in thy field ? from whence then hath it tares ? 
He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. 
The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then 
that we go and gather them up? But he said, 
Nay ; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root 
up also the wheat with them. Let both grow 
together until the harvest : and in the time of 
harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye 
together first the tares, and bind them in 
bundles to burn them : but gather the wheat 


into my barn 

He that soweth the good seed is the Son of 
man ; the field is the world : the good seed 
are the children of the kingdom ; but the 
tares are the children of the wicked one. The 
enemy that sowed them is the devil ; the har- 
vest is the end of the world (, consummatio 
sceculi , Vulg.) ; and the reapers are the 
angels. As therefore the tares are gathered 
and burned in the fire ; so shall it be in 
the end of this woild. The Son of m:n shall 
send forth his angels, and they shall gather 
out of his kingdom all things that offend, and 
them which do iniquity : and shall cast them 
into a furnace of fire : there shall be wail- 
ing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the 
righteous shine forth as the sun, in the 
kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears 
to hear, let him hear. — S. Matt. xiii. 24-30 ; 
37 - 43 - 


One of the very first results of the promulgation of 
Christianity in the world was the flocking to it, from every 
quarter, of men who were not at heart converted men, 
but who, for one reason or another, personal to themselves, 
were induced to throw in their lot with it. We have two 
notable instances of this in Judas Iscariot and Simon 


46 THE KINGDOM OF HE A VEN TO BE OF A MIXED 


Magus. Whatever the motive of Judas in joining the 
Twelve, he proves, throughout his whole connection with 
them, that he was at heart a covetous, self-seeking man. 
He found his place in carrying the bag. Simon Magus 
is another instance of the same. Simon was a wonder- 
worker and professional trickster. He had sense enough 
to see that there was something extraordinary in the 
supernatural side of Christianity, and he thought it a good 
chance to make money out of it. But Peter knew his 
man, and did not hesitate to call him a child of the devil. 
It is difficult, in the nineteenth century, to realize the 
condition of the religious world in the first and second 
centuries. There were at that time in existence almost 
as many schools of philosophy as there were days in the 
year, some three hundred and sixty, it is said. And phi- 
losophy then, unlike philosophy now, included theology 
and moral teaching. It was not long before these teachers 
of the schools discovered the secret of a moral force in 
Christianity which was destined sooner or later to rob 
them of their vocation, and to revolutionize the world. 
They joined themselves to it accordingly : not out of 
moral conviction, but as affording them an enlarged sphere 
for ventilating certain notions or opinions, which they had 
in common with it ; or with an eye to money-making, and 
professional success. Nothing is more remarkable in con- 
nection with the promulgation of the faith in the second 
and third centuries than the swarms of heretical sects, and 
the crowds of false teachers who were preaching their 
doctrines in the name of Christ. Menander, Cerinthus, 


CHARACTER TO THE END OF THE WORLD. 


47 


Carpocrates, Saturninus, Basilides, Cerdon, Valentinus, 
Marcion, and others, too numerous to mention, flourished 
during the lifetime of Polycarp, the disciple of S. John, 
and were all engaged in teaching after he had grown up 
to manhood. 

Our Lord foresaw all this ; and in order to prepare the 
minds of the disciples for it, He proposes it for their con- 
sideration accordingly, in what to them at the time, doubt- 
less, was a kind of riddle. The Jewish notion of the im- 
mediate and universal triumph of the Messianic kingdom 
was one, as we know from later developments, with which 
the minds of the disciples was only too familiar. There 
was much in the spirit of prophecy, speaking as prophecy 
was accustomed to do, in the language of the present, and 
depicting, as it did, future events without any regard to 
perspective, which would appear to foster this carnal 
notion of a speedy triumph of the Gospel. But in oppo- 
sition to this, or as might, with stricter regard to truth, 
perhaps be said, by way of supplementing it, the Apostles 
are to begin to learn that the kingdom of heaven is to win 
its way in the world, not as the religion of the false 
prophet, by the power of the sword, but by the manifesta_- 
tion of the truth. It is to yield, for a time, to a law of 
moral necessity, conditional upon the state of growth and 
development, by virtue of which its true character shall 
be for a time obscured : bad men will be allowed to mingle 
with the good, until the proper time comes for their re- 
moval. Jesus would, once and for all, then, disabuse the 
minds of his followers of the notion of a pure and undis- 


48 THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN TO BE OF A MIXED 


turbed reign of righteousness in the earth, to follow imme- 
diately as the result of the setting up of the Messianic 
kingdom. As there is already present to His divine- 
human consciousness the knowledge of the fact that among 
the Twelve there is a Judas, so He would forewarn them 
that the mixture of the bad with the good will go on in- 
creasing to the end, and the result of the preaching of 
Christ will be the setting up of a kingdom of antichrist in 
opposition to it. Hence, it is that He says : The kingdom 
of heaven has become like (ofioicoOrj, aor.) to a man which 
sowed good seed in his field : but while men slept , his enemy 
came and sowed tares among the wheat : where it is to be 
observed that in speaking, as He does, of the introduction 
of the noxious weed to be an already existing fact, Jesus 
regards the work of the enemy as something already be- 
gun.* The glory of the Messianic kingdom, contrary to 
all human expectation, is to be a veiled glory. So far 
from being perfectly pure, it is to partake of a mixed 
character. The real and the counterfeit, the true and the 
false, are to mingle and commingle together so long as the 
world shall last. 

When we ask the reason for this, it is to be found, in 
fact, that after sowing there is need of rest. There is a 
time when the seed must be left to sleep quietly in the 
clod. We have to allow for a period of delay in the 

* “Whereas, therefore, the first formula says only generally that the 
kingdom of heaven is like what follows, the second says definitely, that 
in the then stage of the development the kingdom of heaven has as- 
sumed the shape in which it is delineated in the following narrative.” — 
Goebel. 


CHARACTER TO THE END OF THE WORLD. 49 


growth and ripening of the seed. Now it is during this 
interval that the possibility arises, of the introduction of 
a counterfeit intermixture throughout the earlier stages of 
growth. It was while “ men slept ” that “ his enemy? 
under the cover of the night, is represented as creeping 
forth by stealth to oversow (e'jrlo-'ireipev) * the field, which 
has first been sown with the good seed. The men who 
sleep are not to be taken for the servants of the house- 
holder hereafter spoken of ; nor is it to be taken for any 
fault of theirs that the enemy gets opportunity to work 
mischief. Men must sleep, and plants must rest. It is 
the way of nature. And yet it is to be borne in mind that 
the night is not the day ; nor are we, on the plea of 
necessity, to shut our eyes to the fact that night is the time 
when evil-doers go forth to work their works of darkness. 
If the words do not contain a rebuke, they do suggest a 
warning. 

Now we find, as a matter of fact, that in the historical 
development of the Church there are both periods of 
activity and periods of rest, following each other in turn, 

* The Vulgate has super seminavit, with which Cod. B., Cod. Sinait., 
Lachmann, and Tischendorf agree. 

f So Goebel and Trench. Thierch takes the opposite view. “ The expres- 
sion, while men slept , is merely a Hebraism for night, not, therefore, implying 
any blame on those who slept in the proper time of rest. Hence in His ex- 
position of the parable afterward, our blessed Lord passes this by as though 
of no moment to the understanding of His meaning. Again, He does not 
say that the servants slept , which might have given some ground for the sup- 
position that He was blaming those who ought to have watched ; but by the 
use of the more general words, men slept. He seems only to imply that the 
enemy came in the time of man’s necessary need,”— P enton, On the Gos- 
pels, p. 206. 


4 


50 the kingdom of heaven to be of a mixed 


just as it is in nature. We have mention made, for ex- 
ample, in the Acts of the Apostles,* of a period of rest to 
the churches, after the death of S. Stephen. It was 
divinely ordained that there should be a seven years’ res- 
pite from persecution, in order that S. Peter might have 
the opportunity afforded him to visit the churches, and 
confirm them. We meet with another such period of rest 
during the latter half of the first century and the begin- 
ning of the second, while S. John Avas still in person, or 
in spirit, presiding over the churches of Asia Minor. 
Compared with the outgoing vigor of the Pentecostal age 
it Avas like an interval of silence — a time “ of quiet and 
obscure, though indefatigable industry in carrying on the 
Avork previously begun.” “ The mighty leaders of the 
Pentecostal age,” the Avriterf just quoted says, “ had, with 
one or two exceptions, departed to their rest ; and those 
who came in their place, being w’ell content to labor upon 
other men’s foundations and in their doctrine, having little 
need or wish to depart from the exact words of apostolic 
teaching, left but scanty traces of their lives to record.” 
After the sixth persecution under Septimius Severus we 
read once more of a calm of thirty-eight years, during 
Avhich, it will be remembered, Elagabalus wished to blend 
Christianity, as well as the religion of the JeAvs and 
Samaritans, with the superstitious worship of the sun-god. 
Examples might be multiplied, but careful examination 
will prove, as in the instance last mentioned, that it is 
during these periods of seeming rest that sects and heresies 

* Acts ix. 31. f Mahan. 


CHARACTER TO THE END OF THE WORLD. 


51 


are accustomed to rise up, and begin to flourish. Rest for 
the Church, experience assures us, is worse and even more 
to be dreaded, than the bitterest persecution. We can 
never allow ourselves to forget that it was the favor of the 
court, under Constantine and his successors, which at one 
time threatened to obliterate every vestige of the catholic 
faith throughout the world. 

The truth which Jesus wou’.d impress upon the minds 
of His disciples, then, in this second and supplementary 
parable is, that there are other and greater hindrances to 
the growth and extension of His kingdom in the world — 
dangers more to be dreaded than those which originate in 
the callousness, or the fickleness, or the perversity of the 
human heart itself. Mention has already been made of 
“ birds of the air,” which fly away with the seeds not trodden 
under foot of men. It is a passing glimpse into the super- 
natural world, which, had it not been for this supple- 
mentary parable, we might be tempted to pass by as a 
mere figure of speech. But now we have it put beyond 
all question or peradventure, that the Church has spiritual 
enemies more deadly than any earthly foes. If Satan can- 
not, with all his efforts, prevent the good seed from strik- 
ing root in some hearts, he has at hand a new device : he 
will corrupt where he cannot destroy; he will accomplish 
by guile what he cannot effect by force ; he will counter- 
feit if he cannot prevent. Christ will have his antichrist 
— one so like Himself in all respects that it is with diffi- 
culty men will be able to tell the difference between them 
—and so the struggle between the kingdoms of light and 


52 THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN TO BE OF A MIXED 


darkness is destined to go on, even to the end of the 
world. 

But it is not only the fact of the existence of a super- 
natural world of evil that is made known to us in the para- 
ble ; we have also revealed to us its mode of operation and 
its peculiar way of working. Satan works under cover. 
What he does, he does in secret. His masterpiece is to 
counterfeit, and so to deceive. He waits until the Sower 
has sown, and follows in His footsteps; he oversows where 
He has sown, going through and through ( ava fi^ov) the 
field. “This is in keeping with what we are frequently 
taught in Holy Scripture, and which the experience of 
daily life confirms — first the truth, and then falsehood. 
Just as false prophets arose as counterfeits of the true, and 
false miracles are done in mockery of the real, so will false 
apostles spring up and claim to be regarded as true, and 
after Christ Himself shall come the antichrist, almost in 
His likeness, so as to deceive many.” * 

And all this is done, it will be observed, while the herb- 
age (%opro?) is green and the fruit has just begun to set. 
The danger is one which belongs to the earlier stages of 
Church growth and development. The unformed condi- 
tion of things is one which Satan is able to take advantage 
of to produce counterfeits, which can only be proved to be 
counterfeits, when the bearded stalk is formed and the 
single ears have begun to crown the stem. It is a notable 
picture and prophecy of the earlier conflicts of the Church, 
in the rise of false teachers and heresies, after the Apostles 
* Denton. 


CHARACTER TO THE END OF THE WORLD. 


53 


had gone to their rest. It is an experience which repeats 
itself in every advance movement of the Church, as in the 
era of the Reformation, when false teachers and prophets 
came forth without number to counterfeit the true. 

There is no mistaking the lesson which it is the aim of 
the parable, in its representation of the enemy continually 
on the watch, and stealing forth under cover of the night 
to do mischief, to enforce. We are to watch by night, as 
well as to work by day. We are to provide against the 
perils of periods of rest, as well as to discharge with faith- 
fulness our trust in times of activity. The early Church 
would appear to have appreciated the lesson in her main- 
tenance of a service at night, as well as a service during the 
day. She was perpetually on the watch. If the conflict 
of the Church militant were only with flesh and blood 
there would be no need of such diligent watch, but since 
it is with principalities, and powers, and spiritual wicked- 
ness seated in high places, it behooves the faithful to use 
unceasingly the only weapon which can protect the Church 
against her spiritual foes, and lift up her hands, day and 
night, continually to Him who neither slumbers nor 
sleeps. 

But, in addition to the witness it bears to the fact of the 
existence of a supernatural world, and the revelation of 
the manner of Satan’s working, the parable goes on still 
further to make known to us the nature of his devices. 
The master-stroke of Satan is to counterfeit where he is 
not able utterly to destroy. The seed which the enemy 
sowed is not well represented, in the translation of our 


54 THE kingdom of heaven to be of a mixed 


authorized version, by “tares;” it was not anything like 
the vetches which farmers with us sometimes sow among 
their oats to be used as fodder for horses. While opinions 
differ as to whether it was the wild corn known as darnel 
(. Lolinm temulentum ), or a kind of creeping wheat called 
couch-grass ( Triticum repens ), there can be no doubt regard- 
ing the kind of bastard plant which is intended. It is a 
product which, in the earlier stages of its growth, is so 
like the genuine wheat in appearance that it is impossible 
to tell the difference between the true and the counterfeit. 
This is the main thing to be kept in mind in connection 
with the teaching of the parable. The devil’s craft is 
shown in choosing a kind of bastard grain, which, in the 
earlier stages of growth is an exact imitation. In order to 
do this, he is represented as waiting until after the Sower 
has sown His seed. According to the best-attested read- 
ing, it is said in the original that he ^wrsows # the field 
which has been already sown before. Nor does he go 
along the outskirts of the field, but he tracks the footsteps 
of the Sower all over ( ava fieo-ov), wherever He has gone, and 
plants a seed in every case where a seed has been depos- 
ited. It is so done that good and bad — the true and the 
counterfeit — come up together ; their roots are intertwined 
one with another, and it is impossible in the beginning to 
extirpate the one without doing serious injury to the 
other. “ These words,” Lightfoot says, in his comments 
on the parable, “ do not so barely mean good and bad 
men, as good and bad Christians, both distinguished from 
* See Critical Note. 


CHARACTER TO THE END OF THE WORLD. 55 


other men — namely, from heathens — as wheat is distin- 
guished from other seeds ; but they are distinguished, also, 
among themselves, as good wheat is distinguished from 
that which is degenerate. So, chap, xxv., all those ten 
virgins, expecting the bridegroom, are virgins, but are dis- 
tinguished into “ wise and foolish virgins.” In other 
words, our Lord in the parable is not dealing with the 
abstract ethical question of good and evil, but with the 
peculiar forms of Satanic agency which owe their origin to 
the introduction of Christianity into the world. The tares, 
or darnel, represent “ antichristian tendencies, perversions 
of Christian truth into forms of error kindred in appear- 
ance, utterly diverse in spirit.” “ What need of additional 
sowing,”* says the writer just quoted, “t<5 get a crop of 
bad men in the world, living side by side with the children 
of the kingdom ? Bad men abounded before the king- 
dom of God, which Christ came to found, appeared ; they 
were certain to abound after its appearance, without one 
taking pains for that purpose. But if what is meant by 
Jesus, when He spoke of tares as likely to arise when His 
kingdom was planted, was counterfeit forms of Chris- 
tianity — forms of evil which would not have appeared had 
not Christianity appeared, and manifesting themselves as 
perversions of Christian truth — then we can understand 
why He spoke of an after-sowing of the field. Then, too, 
we can understand why He said with such emphasis, “ An 
enemy ” — or still more strongly in the interpretation, the 
devil — “ hath done this.” For it is characteristic of the 

* Bruce on the Parables , p. 47. 


5 6 THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN TO BE OF A MIXED 


enemy, animated by diabolical malice, not only to do mis- 
chief, but to do it in the most vexatious possible manner. 
But what more vexatious than to have one’s crop of wheat 
spoiled, not merely by a crop of noxious plants growing 
up in the midst of it, but by a crop which mocks the hus- 
bandman’s hope by a specious resemblance to the crop of 
genuine grain he has taken all needful pains to raise? To 
do this is a feat worthy of him who for wicked ends trans- 
forms himself into an angel of light, and who, in the quaint 
words of Luther, “ cares not to dwell in waste dry places, 
but prefers to sit in heaven.” To the same effect Gres- 
well says : “ The moral characters, then, denoted by the 
bad grain are nominal Christians, whose lives and conduct 
do not habitually accord with the principles of their Chris- 
tian profession, but are still habitually regulated by some 
principles of their own ; whose lives and conduct, there- 
fore, being the genuine result of such principles, are 
the best indication of the principles themselves. A tree 
possessing an intrinsically noxious quality will not bring 
forth wholesome fruit ; nor a sound and healthy and 
wholesome tree give birth to a noxious, a poisonous, a 
degenerate and inferior fruit. Neither will an unsound 
and vicious Christian principle be exemplified in the fruits 
of an holy religious life ; nor a sound and virtuous Chris- 
tian disposition in immoral or worldly practice. The good 
grain in the parable, or the inheritors of the kingdom, are 
they whose lives do not belie their Christian calling ; the 
bad, as the planting of the enemy of Christ, are all whose 
lives are habitually at variance with their profession. The 


CHARACTER TO THE END OF THE WORLD. 57 


former are actuated, of course, on principle, by Christian 
motives ; the latter by reasons and motives, whatever they 
may be in themselves, and however different from each 
other, yet all opposed to the spirit of the Gospel, and, so 
far, antichristicin in common.” 

The diligent reader of Holy Scripture will not fail to 
notice here that agreeable peculiarity in the parabolic nar- 
rative to which Mr. Greswell has called attention, “ which 
arises from the mixture of the dramatic with the historical 
mode of representing the course of particulars.” When 
we pass from the introduction to the central portion of 
the parable, “ the servants of the householder ” are intro- 
duced as asking, with some surprise, “ Sir, didst not thou 
sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it 
tares ? ” The question put by the servants serves a double 
purpose. The form of the question, in which the servants 
are represented as themselves rejecting “ as inconceivable, 
even while stating the only possible explanation, in their 
opinion, of the present phenomenon,” is calculated to stim- 
ulate inquiry ; and, at the same time, it affords the oppor- 
tunity of giving marked prominence to the fact that “ it was 
the intention of its divine Founder that the Church, which 
He came to establish on the earth, should be pure and 
holy, without spot or stain, or anything unclean.”* This 
is a first truth ever to be kept in mind. If there be any- 
thing to the contrary, it is the work of some enemy, who, 
in doing it, was actuated by hostility to the Sower of the 
good seed. But is not the field, according to the terms of 
* Goebel. 


58 THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN TO BE OF A MIXED 


the parable itself, “ His field ” — His own field — His, both 
by creation and redemption ? Why, then, does not the 
Sower of the good seed put forth His power to prevent 
the entrance of His enemy into a sphere which, in addi- 
tion to His original right of creation, He has, by His act 
of redemption, made doubly His own ? Here it is that 
we touch the very heart of the mystery. We are brought 
face to face with the difference between the manifestation 
of God as power in creation, and the manifestation of 
God in the economy of redemption. The parable solves 
the difficulty by the distinction which it now goes on to 
draw between the mediatorial kingdom of which the Son , as 
God incarnate , is the head , and the kingdom of the Father , 
in which the eternal plan reaches its consummation , and into 
which , after the economy of mediation has done its work, the 
elect are finally to be gathered in. It will be observed that 
Jesus, in speaking of Himself as the Sower of the good 
seed, is careful to designate Himself, not Son of God, but 
“ Son of man .” But why is it that Jesus, in speaking to 
His disciples, thus characterizes Himself by a name which 
idealizes His humanity, rather than establishes His claims 
to divinity ? It is for the reason that the term Son of 
man properly designates Him as God incarnate, operating 
not as power, but as love in the sphere of redemption. 
The eternal Logos, creating all things by His divine fiat , is 
one thing ; the incarnate Logos, submitting Himself to all 
the conditions .of the nature which, in His infinite con- 
descension, He has made His own, is to be regarded as 
another and entirely different thing. If the redemption 


CHARACTER TO THE END OF THE WORLD. 59 


of the world were a question of mere power, the problem 
with which the parable deals were easy of solution. God, 
as the heathen man once suggested to the missionary, has 
only to put forth His power and kill the devil, and so end 
the difficulty. But, as intimated in the previous parable, 
to which reference is significantly made by the mention of 
the “ good seed,” the question is not one of power, but of 
moral liberty and spiritual agency . It is not enough to 
plant the good seed, and let it strike root. This, indeed 
(as contrasted with the cases of failure already mentioned), 
is very much. But after the good seed has germinated, it 
must have time given it to develop and come to perfec- 
tion. Now, in this simple fact lies the key to the whole 
mystery of our Lord’s mediatorial kingdom. There are 
not only dangers connected with the first stage and the 
time of sowing, as pointed out in the first parable ; but 
there are dangers of another and a different kind con- 
nected with the second period — the period of growth and 
ripening of the seed — to which our attention is now par- 
ticularly called. In the one case the difficulty is, for the 
most part, in the nature of the soil ; in the other case it is 
of a supernatural kind : it comes from a source foreign to 
the soil, and belongs to the heavenly sphere itself. The 
Sower is compelled, for a time, to leave the good seed, 
after it has taken root, in the soil ; and so an opportunity 
is given for hostile influences to be set to work in the very 
same sphere, through the introduction into it of counter- 
feit intermixtures, which, however, like the good seed in the 
earlier stages of growth and development, have their origin 


60 THE KINGDOM OF HE A VEN TO BE OF A MIXED 


in a foreign source, and (be the imitation what it may) are 
in reality the work of the great enemy of the good seed — 
the devil. It is to be noted in this connection that the 
parable of the Tares, in distinction from that of the Sower, 
is not treating of individuals and of conversion, but of an 
organized body and of systems of error. Here the crop, as 
Goebel and Thiersch both observe, forms a united whole. 
The counterpart to the grain is the children of the king- 
dom — “ the body of members, or the community of the 
kingdom of heaven.” In contradistinction to this, the 
tares, when gathered, are “ gathered into bundles.” Time 
is necessary for those who are in reality of the kingdom, 
and they who are of the contrary part, “ to develop fully 
their contrary principles into contrary systems of organiza- 
tion and action — when both thus ripen and show their 
fruit, then the harvest “ is near.” It is with the Church, 
as a whole, in other words, as it is with individuals in par- 
ticular. Freedom of choice is needful to the individual in 
order that the will, by resisting the evil, may eventually be 
confirmed in the good : formal freedom in the process of 
time is destined to become, through trial, real freedom. 
So, also, in the mystery of the kingdom, error is allowed 
to enter in for the greater confirmation of the truth. Men 
are proved by their holding to the one, or by their yielding 
to the other. However we may be disposed at times to be 
alarmed at the progress of heretical pravity or of laxity of 
life, it only needs time for the separation to take place. 
The same influences which are ripening the good seed, 
and developing it into maturity, are forcing the alien ele- 


CHARACTER TO THE END OF THE WORLD . 6 1 


ment into hostile bands and sects of various kinds. The 
historical development and growth of the Church, both in 
her faith and in her polity, affords a notable illustration of 
this. Had it not been for the necessity forced upon her 
by the conflict with error, the Church would never have 
felt constrained to formulate her creeds. Had the choice 
been left to her, she would have preferred to rest in her 
implicit beliefs, and give herself wholly up to the relief of 
the needy, and to the discharge of the functions of her 
royal priesthood in acts of prayer and thanksgiving. But 
while the Church sought after repose and retirement, Satan 
was ever on the watch. The rise and growth of error com- 
pelled her to give explicit statement to her implicit beliefs. 
There is not an article of the Creed, nor a received doctrine 
of the faith, that has not in this way been formulated and 
reduced to logical expression : it is the result of continued 
and ever-renewed conflict from age to age. There was a 
time when it would seem as if Arianism had triumphed, 
and the catholic faith was doomed to utter destruction. 
But the Church came out of the conflict more and more 
confirmed in the faith, and Arianism proved its origin by 
its worldliness, and in a short time broke up into a mul- 
titude of warring sects which soon destroyed each other. 

As Satan works under cover and disguises himself as 
an angel of light, so he must be met with guile, and time 
must be allowed for him to appear in his true colors. 
Here, as elsewhere, Jesus is urging upon His disciples 
the need of wisdom and patience in dealing with men. 
The Church, as a polity, cannot afford to cast aside po- 


62 THE KINGDOM OF HE A VEN TO BE OF A MIXED 


litical wisdom in her conduct of affairs. It is not the 
error only and its destruction she has to consider, but she 
must take into consideration that error is partial truth, 
and it is the modicum of truth which gives to error its 
power over men. The parable puts it strikingly. When 
the servants of the householder, in their zeal, would im- 
mediately upon discovering them have pulled up the tares, 
the master restrains them. And why ? Not so much out 
of regard for the tares, as out of consideration for the 
wheat. When the servants, in their intemperate zeal, 
upon seeing the tares, ask, “ Wilt thou then that we go and 
gather them up? ” the answer is, “ Nay ; lest while ye 
gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.” 
So is it also in real life whenever social questions, as in the 
present instance, are involved, as Dr. Bruce reminds us. 
The stamping-out process in such cases is worse than 
folly. The cure is worse than the disease. In the Church, 
as in the State, we must have regard to the solidarity of 
men. It is not enough to consider the individual ; we 
must remember that men living together in a social com- 
munity are bound one to another in spiritual and social 
ties ; and we must pay due regard to the consideration 
whether or not, in dealing with one, we may not affect for 
good or for evil others also. With much that may be said 
against it, we must remember that there is such a thing as 
political virtue. There is community life as well as indi- 
vidual life. We are bound to consider the relations of 
men to each other, as well as the relation of each to God. 
He that is set to be a ruler in the Church must add the 


CHARACTER TO THE END OF THE WORLD. 63 


wisdom of the serpent to the harmlessness of the dove. 
In dealing with sinners he is bound to consider the injury 
like to be done to the whole, as well as the harm likely 
to ensue to the individual. Above all, he must not use 
force, but exercise patience and long-suffering in dealing 
with offenders. 

The parable, as will be seen, cuts two ways. In its rec- 
ognition of the moral necessity of a mixed condition of 
things during the whole of the probational stage which 
characterizes the mediatorial kingdom, it condemns every- 
thing like Montanism and Donatism and Puritanism. It 
may with truth be said that a perfectly pure Church is not 
only, in the nature of things, impossible, but even if it 
were possible, it is not desirable. In forbidding anything 
like hasty and violent uprooting of the tares, our parable 
condemns all premature judgments of men and things 
based upon mere appearance, and especially it reprobates 
violent measures for the suppression of error, such as 
the crusade against the Albigenses, or the methods of 
the Inquisition, or the statute De hceretico comburendo. 
The kingdom, by its very nature, forbids resort to physical 
force, either for the extension or the defence of the faith. 
But does the parable also forbid everything like spiritual 
censure and resort to excommunication when it is neces- 
sary to defend and protect the truth ? Assuredly not ! 
The due exercise of power and authority by the Church 
in her own proper sphere will be provided for after a 
while. Meanwhile the disciples are to bear in mind that 
their proper work is to sow the seed, and leave the rest in 


64 THE KINGDOM OF HE A VEN TO BE OF A MIXED 


the hands of God. They must trust to the ordering 
of Divine Providence : they are to remember that God 
has supernatural agents at His command to separate the 
wheat from the tares, when the time has arrived that, in 
His judgment, it is desirable so to do. As in the preced- 
ing parable, we have to bear in mind that the moral dif- 
fers from the natural, and the various soils, accordingly, 
do not represent fixed states, but conditions which may at 
any time be altered; so in the parable of the Tares we are 
to remember that in forbidding hasty or violent attempts 
to get rid of the tares, Jesus does not intend to prevent any 
exercise of salutary discipline on the part of the Church 
over its members which may have in view, not the destruc- 
tion , but the salvation , of the offender. So far from this, 
we know as a matter of fact that at a later stage of things 
Jesus expressly provides for it. 

But, in truth, the raising of the question is premature, 
and ought, in all fairness, to be ruled out as foreign to the 
whole drift and purpose of the parable. When our Lord 
compares, as He does, the kingdom of heaven to a man 
who sowed good seed in his own field , He is not, as yet, 
speaking of the organic Church, but of Himself in His 
relation to believers in the world which He has redeemed, 
and of which He is the crowned head. It is never to be 
forgotten that, in addition to the sacramental relation 
which Jesus holds to the individual believer, He is also, 
as the first-born of every creature, head over all things for 
His body’s sake, which is the Church : seated at the right 
hand of the Majesty in the heavens, the Son of man 




CHARACTER TO THE END OF THE WORLD. 65 

wields all power in heaven, earth, and hell. All things 
have been put under His feet. Bad angels are in His 
keeping just as much as the good. Now, it is not as 
head of the Church in sacramental union with His own 
that our Lord appears in the parable, but as head over all 
things for the sake of the Church. There is significance, 
accordingly, both in the peculiar phraseology, “ The king- 
dom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good 
seed in his field ,” as indicating the particular point of 
view from which the subject is to be regarded, as well 
as in the emphasis laid upon the clause, in his own field , 
ev to) cvypo) avrov. It is not, as intimated before, the rela- 
tion which our Lord bears to the corporate Church, which 
is now before us ; but the relation which He sustains to 
the world , in which He has sown the good seed, and over 
which He has won the right of sovereignty, by virtue of 
the price which He has paid for it, in giving Himself up 
a ransom to deliver it from the power of the destroyer. 
“ The field is the world the Sower is the Son of man, who 
has redeemed the world and holds it in His power for 
the sake of man, whose nature He has assumed. By the 
“ world,” in the parable of the Tares, is meant something 
very different from the ground of the parable of the Sower. 
The ground is the passive yet productive clod — human 
nature, regarded as capable of bringing forth the fruits of 
evangelical righteousness. The “ world,” on the other 
hand, is the sphere where men meet together in social 
intercourse and elevated pursuit; whether we take the 
Greek or the Latin word translated “ world,” it symbolizes 
5 


66 THE KINGDOM OF HE A VEN TO BE OF A MIXED 


order and refinement and culture. Now, the Church, it 
is never to be forgotten, has its relation to the world, as 
well as to individual souls. It is “the light of the world,” 
as well as “ the salt of the earth.” The Church has to do 
with the world’s progress, quite as much as it has to do 
with the salvation of men’s souls. It cannot stand apart 
from the world, or be indifferent to the course of the 
world’s history. But herein lies its danger. The revival 
of Greek learning in the fifteenth century, and the transla- 
tion of the Bible into the vulgar tongue, mark one of the 
greatest movements in the history of the world’s progress ; 
but then, as in all such movements, the enemy was on the 
watch, and with the revival of learning, and the struggle 
for liberty of conscience and the inculcation of personal 
religion, introduced into modern society those socialistic 
principles which gave birth to the French Revolution and 
the Anarchists of our own day and generation. So it has 
been from the beginning. With every advance made on the 
part of the Church, and the introduction of new elements 
of enlightenment and Christian culture, we can discern a 
corresponding advance on the part of the world-spirit and 
the formation of an antichristian society, which owes all 
that makes it attractive to Him who first taught men what 
true liberty of conscience is, and to the Christian Church, 
which restored labor when it had lost all its virtue in 
the eyes of men. “ History,”* it has been well said, “ is 
neither a constant cycle of incessant repetitions, nor an 
endless and aimless progress. It could not be really his- 

* Luthardt : The Saving Truths of Christianity , p. 265. 


CHARACTER TO THE END OF THE WORLD. 67 


tory, nor could any development be effected therein, unless 
it were advancing toward an appointed end. This devel- 
opment, however, is not merely that of beneficial agencies, 
which are powerfully working amidst the course of events ; 
there is also a development of the power of sin, and of 
enmity against God, which no efforts of the good will ever 
be able to conquer. These two powers of history will be 
progressively brought into sharper distinction ; the power 
of evil will be ever more and more decidedly opposed to 
the power of good and to the kingdom of God. Though 
frequently this power of evil may seem to be restrained or 
subdued, it is ever breaking forth afresh. Such a breaking 
forth of evil, will, as the Scripture teaches, bring forth the 
world’s final catastrophe at the last judgment, when God 
will forever sever all moral contrasts.” “ Antichrist is that 
historical expression for the devil, the meaning of which 
is gradually declared in the historical development of re- 
ligion in the world.” * In addition to sects and heresies 
arising from within, we meet in history systems of thought 
and organized forms of belief of another kind coming from 
without, in which the spirit of error seeks to imitate Chris- 
tianity, while it aims at its complete and entire destruc- 
tion. Manicheism is something very different from Mon- 
tanism. It was another religion which sought to engraft 
itself upon Christianity; and which had its bishops, its 
graduated hierarchy, and its travesty of sacramental rites. 
The Albigenses, and the kindred brood of sectaries in the 
twelfth century, are not to be identified with the Waldenses 
* Martensen : Dogmatic Theology , p. 196. 


68 THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN TO BE OF A MIXED 


and the Brethren of the Common Life. The one was an 
outbreak of the pagan spirit, and positively antichristian 
in its tendency ; while the other sought only after the 
revival of the Evangelical life. “No attentive observer,” * 
Martensen says, “ will deny that in history there occur 
phenomena which point to demoniac power and demoniac 
inspirations.” Now it is to this broader truth the para- 
ble points us. It is not against bad men in the world 
it warns us ; nor is it aimed against the development of 
sects and heresies within the Church, so much as against 
a state of things incidental to the course of the world’s 
progress, by virtue of which, Christianity is bound to call 
forth forms of error never known to the world before ; and 
to raise up, in accordance therewith, a kingdom of evil, in 
which the “ prince of this world ” will appear as an angel 
of light and deceive the nations of the earth. 

Notwithstanding — and this is the great thought with 
which the parable closes — the conflict will not go on for- 
ever ; it is destined to have an end, if the end be not so 
near as we feign would have it to be. If there be a time 
for sowing and for growth, there is also to be a time of 
harvest. If God asks us to wait, it is with the assurance 
that the course of the world’s history is slowly working to 
its end ; and that end is the ripening of the good seed 
which the Son of man at his departure left upon the 
earth. The good seed and the darnel are to be allowed 
to grow together, side by side in the same field, until “ the 
end of the world ,” or, as it ought to be rendered, “ the con- 

* Ethics, p. 199. 


CHARACTER TO THE END OF T HE WORLD. 69 


summation of the age.” The word here translated “world” 
is entirely different in the original from that which occurs 
in the phrase “ the field is the world.” It is a distinction 
that is not without a difference. The simple explanation 
is that there are many ways of looking at the world. We 
may regard it, as the Greeks were accustomed of old time 
to do, and as men of science do now, as a system of laws, 
with a fixed and established order ; or we may view nat- 
ure as the artist does, in an aesthetic way, as a picture, 
and see the divine revealed in it under the form of the 
beautiful. The man of science and the artist have each 
their own way of looking at the world ; and it may be said 
of each that it is true, as far as it goes. But there is still 
another way of looking at the world, and it was from this 
point of view that the Hebrew, with his religious way of 
thinking, was accustomed to speak of things. The biblical 
view of the world, as opposed to the scientific and the 
aesthetic, is, that it is the sphere of moral probation in 
which man moves onward toward his destined end, and 
God appears in history directing and adjusting the course 
of events until His plan and purpose are made complete. 
Now it is thought, which is embodied in the expression 
“ consummation of the age.” The world is regarded, not as 
a system of fixed laws, but as the theatre of Divine Provi- 
dence, on which God appears from time to time in vari- 
ous characters; and the close of one act of the drama 
prepares the way for the beginning of another. The old 
and the new meet together, and as the old order passes 
away the new order is ushered in. Now, it is characteris- 


7 O THE KINGDOM OF HE A FEN TO BE OF A MIXED 


tic of these epochs of the passing away of the old and the 
introduction of the new, that they are invariably times of 
judgment. The flood was to the antediluvians an end 
of the world, the consummation of the age. The Cainite 
development came to an end; and the few souls that 
were saved with Noah became the seed of a new world of 
regenerate humanity. The downfall of Jerusalem, in like 
manner, was an end of the world to the men of our Lord’s 
own day and generation. The covenant made with Abra- 
ham in the flesh had reached its consummation, and a new 
beginning was made, looking forward to the founding of a 
universal kingdom into which all nations are to be gathered. 
So, again, the close of the mediatorial kingdom will be 
the end of the world — the completion and consummation 
of the Messianic age — when the divine plan shall have 
reached its completion, and the mediatorial kingdom, with 
all its limitations and defects, arising out of its probational 
character, will give place to the kingdom of glory, in 
which all intermixtures shall disappear : the separation 
between the wheat and the chaff will take place ; the one 
will be gathered into the barn, and the other burnt up 
with unquenchable fire. 

In making application of this biblical view of the world 
to the parable, two things are to be kept in mind. It 
is to be remembered, that it is of the nature of prophecy 
to view all things from the divine stand-point in the liv- 
ing present, and it admits of no perspective. The end of 
the world is near, even at the door, for the reason that, 
according to the biblical view, the world has an end, and 


CHARACTER TO THE END OF THE WORLD. 


7 l 


all things are fast drifting toward it. It is to be remem- 
bered, again, that all God’s judgments, like the flood, or 
the destruction of Jerusalem, are preparations for, and an- 
ticipations of, the last judgment. “After every historic 
crisis there remains behind more than one unrectified and 
even unperceived injustice or grievance — an impure mixt- 
ure of justice and injustice, of truth and falsehood. Every 
partial judgment, therefore, points to a future and more 
perfect one ; and all half-executed judgments to one, which 
shall be final and decisive, by means of which the good 
shall attain the realization of the sovereignty which be- 
longs to it.” To the men of our Lord’s own day and gen- 
eration “ the consummation of the age ” was the destruc- 
tion of the Holy City and the downfall of the Jewish 
dispensation. The judgment upon Jerusalem was the 
birth-pang which set free the Catholic Church, and sent 
it forth on its universal mission. Then the Judaic spirit, 
which had hitherto stood in the way of progress, crystal- 
lized into sects — Ebionites and Nazarenes and Elcesaites 
— which, in due time, were given over to the burning. It 
was all done, moreover, not by the servants of the house- 
holder who were in charge of the field, but by super- 
natural agents. So it has been, the ages all along. Syr- 
ian Christianity, with its multitude of sects, has perished 
under the hand of the Turk, and has given place to the 
Greek Church. North Africa has been swept by the 
hordes of the Vandals, and with it Montanism and Dona- 
tism have died out. Byzantinism has perished, and Papal- 
ism, in turn, has given place to rationalism and the spirit 


72 THE KINGDOM OF HE A VEN TO BE OF A MIXED 


of the Reformation. But amid all, the Church and hu- 
manity move on : the wheat is gathered into the barn : the 
chaff is swept from the threshing-floor, and given over to 
destruction. The Church is patiently to wait God’s time. 
She is not to anticipate the order of Divine Providence, 
and have recourse to the secular arm to put heretics to 
death. She is to remember that the Lord reigneth, and 
that in due time, “ the Son of mart shall send forth his 
angels , and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things 
that offend , and them which do iniquity : and shall cast 
them into a furnace of fire” We must open the Book 
of the Revelation of S. John the Divine to see what is 
meant. There, the same view is presented as in the earlier 
stages of the divine economy. God appears in history 
through the agency of supernatural powers. Through 
them, He pours out His judgments upon the earth, and 
brings things, when the appointed time comes, to a final 
issue. Or, to adopt the phraseology suggested by the par- 
able — “When the harvest is ripe, He puts in the sickle,” and 
gives the earth to the angels to reap and make ready. As 
there is a sphere of probation and a sphere of retribution, 
so also there are natural agents and supernatural agents. 
The Householder has His servants: and the King has His 
angels or messengers. When the appointed time has ar- 
rived, then, the angels, at the bidding of the Son of man, 
“ shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, 
and them which do iniquity .” The word “ offence,” or, as 
it is in the original, scandal (a/cdvBaXov), is constantly used 
in the New Testament in connection with religious teach- 


CHARACTER TO THE EA r D OF THE WORLD. 73 


ers. The Apostles are warned not to give offence ( gkclv - 
Ba\ov) to one of Christ’s “ little ones.” Considerate regard 
for others is one of the chief characteristics of Christ and 
His kingdom. He considers all — little children, the weak, 
sinners, the poor and needy ; He gives offence to none ; 
He washes even His disciples’ feet. So also must His 
servants be. Everything foreign to Christ and His teach- 
ing, in dealing with the souls of men, is of the nature of an 
offence. It is the putting of a stumbling-block in the way 
of those whom Christ, in His infinite condescension and 
tender pity, came to save; and it will be judged accord- 
ingly. Woe to them who profess to be teachers, and were 
never sent by the Good Shepherd ! Woe to them who in 
their pride and their fancied wisdom, and by their bad 
example, make havoc of the flock ! Surely it were better 
for them that they had never been born. They are only 
“ stumbling-blocks ” in the way of others, and they will 
certainly meet their fate. In contrast to the true “ chil- 
dren of the kingdom,” who, like their Lord and Mas- 
ter, are meek and gentle toward all men, these scandal- 
makers are characterized as lawless persons, doers and 
makers of the unlawful (tou? ttolowtos rrjv avofilav ) — 
“ that which is in opposition to God’s ordinances.” * The 
doer lies concealed (so to speak) behind the deed ; but he 
shall not escape on that account. For the lawless and 
disobedient there is but one possible fate ; their end is to 
be the “ furnace of fire” and “ weeping and gnashing of 
teeth? The use of the article suggests that Jesus was 
* Goebel. 


74 THE kingdom of he a ven to be of a mixed 

speaking of something well known to the people of the 
Jews. “ The furnace represents Gehenna.” * Two things 
are to be borne in mind in opposition to the efforts made 
to rob such language of everything like a positive and final 
character. The persons spoken of in connection with it 
are represented (1) as “ children of the devil.” What worse 
could be said of them ? And if it be true, what doom can 
await them but the woe which is pronounced against the 
enemy of God ? The state described (2) is spoken of as ( 
a condition of final separation. The state of probation is 
ended, and with it the patience which has permitted the 
enemy to use men as his agents for destroying the good ; 
the state of retribution has begun, and the spurious grain 
is gathered by the angels out from among the wheat, to 
the end that it may be burned. There surely can be no 
fault found with the patience exercised ; nor can it be said 
that the work of separation was not sufficiently guarded. 
And if retribution comes at the last, it is only because 
that in the very nature of things the difference between 
good and evil is eternal. 

The concluding words of the parable make a distinc- 
tion between the kingdom of the Son of man and the king- 
dom of the Father. When the mediatorial economy of the 
Son shall cease, then the kingdom of the Father will 
begin. So long as evil is permitted to exist in the world- 
sphere, the mystery of probation goes on ; but when the 
time comes that the elect are all gathered in, then the 
whole divine plan will reach its consummation, and God 
* Meyer. 


CHARACTER TO THE END OF THE WORLD. 75 


will be all in all. The clouds, which during the media- 
torial stage have obscured the glory of the righteous, will 
be removed, and they will shine forth resplendent “ as the 
sun .” As Goebel observes, “ the subject here is not the 
glorious reward consisting in the glorification of their 
natural life, in which the good are one day to partake, 
which would introduce into the interpretation an element 
quite new and altogether foreign to the train of thought 
in the parable ; but the subject is the glorious effect 
which the removal of the o-KavSaXa and their authors, pre- 
vious to the righteous being brought into the kingdom 
of the father, will have on the state of the righteous 
there, namely, a shining forth of their righteousness with 
unsullied purity.” It will be observed, then, that the 
economy of the Son is not opposed to the economy of 
the Father. It is purely mediatorial in its character, 
and is to endure only as long as the state of probation 
shall last. After that, as all things come from God the 
Father, so all things will revert to Him again. When 
every obstacle is removed and taken away, the divine 
glory in all its effulgence will break forth, and all cre- 
ated things will reflect, without diminution or let or hin- 
drance, the splendor of their Creator. What the body 
will be then it is hard, if not impossible, to say. We 
catch a glimpse of it in the Transfiguration. What the 
soul will be it is equally hard to tell. That it is to develop 
capabilities and powers far beyond all thought, there are 
intimations given now and then, when, for the time being, 
as it sometimes does, the soul seems to rise above the 


76 THE KINGDOM OF HE A YEN TO BE OF A MIXED 


conditions imposed upon it by the senses. Mesmerism, 
biology, clairvoyance, would all seem to point to powers 
and capabilities lying hidden and ready to be developed 
when the conditions of time and space shall have been 
removed. And as for the spirit itself, it is impossible to 
tell what effect the unclouded vision of the glory of the 
Godhead will have upon it — what deeper intuition of 
truth — what greater intensity of love and devotion — what 
rapture — what fuller and intenser life. The sum of the 
parable is that the disciples are not to look for any 
sudden or immediate development of the Messianic king- 
dom. There is to be no rapid or dazzling triumph; there 
is to be no miraculous hastening of events. But they 
must not be discouraged ; nor must they lose faith in 
the overruling providence of God. They are not to use 
violence, nor are they to have recourse to revolutionary 
methods. They are to watch unto prayer, and contend 
only with the spiritual weapons of the word and the pas- 
toral staff. God will take care of His own. And when 
the time comes that lawless men and false teachers have 
developed their contrary principles into opposing systems 
of organization and action, He who watches over all will 
send forth His angels, and gather them into bundles and 
give them over to destruction. The probational stage 
is one thing: the kingdom of glory another. The two 
spheres are separate and must not be confounded. The 
agents in the one are “servants,” appointed to do pa- 
tiently their Master’s work, and to make the extension of 
the kingdom their great end ; the agents in the other are 


CHAR A CTER TO THE END OF THE WORLD . 77 


the angelic spirits which God uses to accomplish His pur- 
poses in the government of the world and the ushering in 
of the kingdom of glorification. 


NOTES. 

Ver. 24. — The very different nature of the subject treated in this parable 
is recognized in the use of the word TrapcnlOevai , which represents it as some- 
thing proposed for solution like a riddle. That it is something very different 
from what was to be expected is admitted by the use of 6/jLolo)6r], “made like,” 
instead of 6/j.oia iarlv in the parables which follow after. The Sower of 
the “ good seed ” is forced by a law of moral necessity to submit to the coun- 
terfeiting of the seed in order that the great fundamental law of free choice 
may not be set aside. This is to be regarded as one of the notes of the 
Messianic kingdom. 

Ver. 26. — It is not perfectly clear what is meant by the Greek word 
Ci(avia, which the Authorized Version renders “tares.” The difficulty about 
the word itself is that it is not found in Greek authors, and is of Aramaic 
origin. There would seem to be little doubt that the Greek zizanion is the 
same as the common Arabic zowan , and represents the same thing. It is 
a grass, and not a legut/ien or vetch, as our English word “tares” suggests. 
It is, moreover, a poisonous grass, so like the wheat-plant itself in all respects 
that it is almost impossible, save by the effect it produces, to tell the one 
from the other. When analyzed, six parts of the meal were found to contain 
one of gluten, four of starch, and one of saccharine matter, all nutritious as 
well as harmless. The deleterious property is so subtle that it escapes anal- 
ysis, and is only known by the effect. When eaten separately, or even dif- 
fused in ordinary bread, zowan causes dizziness, and even acts as a violent 
emetic. Barn-door fowls will become dizzy from eating it. It is a strong 
soporific poison ; and if not carefully picked out, grain by grain, from among 
the wheat, before grinding, the flour is not healthy. It is the belief of the 
Jews, both ancient and modern, that the zo7uan is a degenerate wheat. But 
whether this be the case or not, the thing represented is not bad men as op- 
posed to good, but men of an antichristian spirit, who, for one reason or 
another, assume the Christian garb, and seem to lead the Christian life, and 
are a cause of offence to the weak, and are moved by a spirit wholly alien to 
that meek and gentle temper which surrenders itself up in docility and obedi- 
ence to the authority of the kingdom. 


7 8 


THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, ETC. 


Ver. 42. — Goebel says that ra aKavtiaXa in verse 42 must not be taken 
“as a designation of persons,” but of things, and the “force of the periphras- 
tic expression, rovs iroiovTrras tV avo^iav, is that the language advances from 
the actual scandals to their personal authors.” What was scandalous in the 
outward appearance of the kingdom was not primarily the false members 
themselves, but the evil works by the existence of which the former was made 
known. “ Every sinful work and thing in antagonism to God’s holy will 
(called GKdvtiaXa because calculated to lead to error respecting God’s holy 
nature and the divine origin of the kingdom itself, where found within the 
Church of the kingdom), and those who do — tV dvo/xiav — that which is in 
opposition to God’s ordinances, and, therefore, the authors of these scandals, 
the angels will gather out of the kingdom of their Lord.” 


III. 


Ste f*Xmi anti tte fiXiistartt-sectT. 





III. 


Sfrje ?ptau attxT tlxje 2^ustaiext*sjejexT. 


THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN BY VIRTUE OF ITS ORGAN- 
ISM A SHELTER FOR THE NATIONS. 

Another parable put he forth unto them, seeds ; but when it is grown, it is the greatest 
saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that 
of mustard-seed, which a man took, and sowed the birds of the air come and lodge in the 
in his field : which indeed is the least of all branches thereof. — S. Matt. xiii. 31, 32. 

It is curious, as well as instructive, to note the constant 
changes, as we advance, in the use of the images employed 
to foreshadow the mystery of the kingdom. At first it 
was “ wheat,” the staple of man’s primal wants; it is now 
mustard-seed, a garden herb, indicative of social life and 
advanced culture. It is as if we had passed from the first 
struggle for bare subsistence to the stage of organized ex- 
istence, with all its superadded gifts of social refinement 
and higher culture. In following the course of the king- 
dom we have left behind, as it were, the first necessary 
operations of making disciples, and of building them up 
in the faith in opposition to false teachers ; now the 
Church begins to assume the form of an organized body, 
and grows up into a great world-power. It is no longer 

a question of good and bad soil ; nor of the conflict be- 
6 


82 THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN BY VIRTUE OF 


tween truth and error in the world ; but of the Church 
and kingdom of God in its relation to the powers of the 
world. We are reminded, as we advance, that the king- 
dom of heaven is something more than the preaching of 
the word to work conviction in men’s hearts ; it is some- 
thing more than an intellectual process by which they are 
effectually guarded against error, and are built up in the 
knowledge of the truth— what more ? It is intended to 
be a divine organization , of which our Lord Jesus Christ 
Himself is the archetypal germ, and the informing life. 
The Son of man, it would appear, in coming into the 
world proposed to Himself something more than is im- 
plied in the vocation of a prophet ; He came to do more 
than to found a new school of ethics, or add another 
to the many existing systems of thought in the world. 
From the very first, as His acts testify, He had it in mind 
to establish an imperial society, which is to unite in sacra- 
mental bonds all who are His, making them one, not in 
thought or feeling only, but one in Himself, who, in the 
mystery of His divine-human person , is at the same time 
both the truth and the life. We see Jesus in a double 
character in the corn of wheat and in the mustard-seed. 
He is indeed the eternal Logos, the seminal truth, which 
when sown tests and proves the soil of human nature, 
whether it still retains aught of its original productive 
energy and power. He is, moreover, the Son of man, and 
the founder of a catholic religion in the world — a religion 
commensurate with all the wants and longings of univer- 
sal humanity. But He is also of the seed of Abraham, ac- 


ITS ORGANISM A SHELTER FOR THE NA TIONS. 83 


cording to the flesh, and as such the archetypal germ of 
the organic Church. It would appear, then, that we have 
two entirely different aspects of the kingdom presented in 
the first, and in the second group of parables. In the one, it 
is the preaching of the word, and the wide-world dissem- 
ination of the truth with which we have to do ; in the 
other, as we shall see, it is not the evangelical but the 
sacramental element which enters in, by virtue of which, 
through its organic union with Christ, and as a partaker of 
His life , the Church grows and perpetuates itself accord- 
ing to the form at first impressed upon it. 

Not without meaning, then, is it said that the “ kingdom 
of heaven is like a grain of mustard-seedi ’ “ The kingdom 
of God, which Jesus desired to make a reality,” Reuss* ob- 
serves, “ commences with His personal appearance in the 
theatre of the world. His advent, and the setting up of 
the kingdom, are one and the same thing, . . . even 

as in organic nature growth commences from the moment 
the grain comes in contact with the human soil.” f Nor is 

* History of Christian Theology in the Apostolic Age, vol. i., p. 155. 

\ So also Thiersch : “He bore the kingdom in Himself. It was con- 
tained in Him. By His coming into the world the kingdom was already 
come in its real essence, though circumscribed, limited to His person, unseen 
by men, small as a grain of mustard-seed. The Lord did not remain per- 
manently upon the earth, but before He left it He hid in the heart of His 
disciples the word of truth, and breathed into them the spirit of life. He is 
the man who took a grain of mustard-seed, and hid it in His garden, as S. 
Luke expresses it. The word of God in the little company of his disciples, 
who were assembled in an upper room with closed doors for fear of the Jews, 
was this grain of mustard-seed. From this small beginning it has grown up 
— the Christian Church has developed itself as a tree of God’s planting. It 
was like the vine of which was written, ‘ the hills were covered with the 
shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedar-trees.’” 


84 THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN BY VIRTUE OF 


it without significance that it is added — “ which a man took , 
and sowed in his field .” The taking is as characteristic of 
the second group of parables, as the going forth to sow of 
the first. The sowing of the field was common to Christ 
and His Apostles, as preachers of the word : not so the 
planting of the germ from which is to spring the world- 
embracing tree. This was the personal act of the Son of 
man, in His taking human nature into union with His 
divine nature. It has a parallel and finds its explana- 
tion in the saying of S. Paul, “For verily he took not 
on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the 
seed of Abraham.” * The seed of Abraham, in compar- 
ison with many other seeds that were in the earth, was 
the smallest of them all. It was not to be compared to 
the Persians, or to the Greeks, or to the Romans, as a 
seed. Notwithstanding, like the “ mustard-seed,” it had 
within it an inherent vitality and power which fitted it 
above all seeds for being the organic germ of the Chris- 
tian Church. Stier, with his accustomed insight, points 
out the difference between the mustard-seed as a garden 
herb ( \ayavov ) and the ordinary field corn. Both, indeed, 
are seeds. But the one is a cultivated product ; the other 
God’s gift to man for purposes of daily food. So in the 
mystery of Christ : we are to discriminate between human 
nature in general, and that body which was specially pre- 
pared for Him. Christ, according to the flesh, was a Jew. 
The men He first incorporated and took into sacramental 
union with Himself were all Jews. Had His mission been 


Heb. ii. io. 


ITS ORGANISM A SHELTER FOR THE NATIONS. 85 


only to mankind at large as a teacher and a Saviour, we 
might have regarded it as a thing indifferent of whom He 
should be born. Inasmuch, however, as He came to be 
the Lord of a peculiar people, and the head of His body 
the Church, He needed a special education and discipline 
which Jewish culture only could impart. It was given to 
the people of the Jews, not only to be the medium of the 
divine revelation to the world, but also to educate and 
train a chosen seed, which was to be the nucleus of the 
future Messianic Church and kingdom. The connection 
between the old dispensation and the new, is not fortui- 
tous or accidental, but organic . And the bond which 
binds the two together is the fleshly descent of the Son of 
God from Abraham. 

The seed taken, it is “sowed” by the “ man in his field.” 
As the history advances, attention is more and more called 
to the personal agency of the householder, and his relation 
to the seed. In the introductory parable, as we have seen, 
it is the soil and not the sower that is made most promi- 
nent. By a seemingly imperceptible, but by a most art- 
fully contrived arrangement of details, the sower in the 
second parable becomes a householder, and has servants 
under him. And now, in the third stage, attention is first 
fixed upon the owner of the field. He is represented as 
taking the least of all the seeds that are in the earth, and 
as sowing it in his field. It is said by Goebel that the 
taking was only to emphasize the sowing, but this is exe- 
getical trifling. What was there in the sowing of one seed 
in a field which should make it desirable to emphasize the 


86 THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN BY VIRTUE OF 


fact of sowing ? The truth is, the situation regarded from 
a purely natural point of view is absurd. Who would sow 
one seed in a field ? If the object were to grow a crop of 
wheat, the planting of one seed would be simply folly ; 
but if it be the purpose of the householder to get a tree, 
and provide a shelter for the birds, then we can understand 
why his action should be so deliberate, and his purpose 
distinctly declared by the selection of a kind of seed which 
in its growth will compass the end he has in view. The 
seed was chosen with a purpose ; and the householder in 
making his choice had it in mind not to grow grain, but 
to secure the shelter of a spreading tree, whose branches 
will attract the birds, and afford to creatures of every wing 
an opportunity to build their nests there. The field is to 
be covered, but not this time with waving grain. What is 
wanted is an organic growth of an extraordinary kind, 
which will afford shelter rather than food, and attract the 
fowls of heaven, so that they will come and lodge in the 
branches. 

We may dismiss the question as to the literal accuracy 
of our Lord’s words in speaking of the “ mustard-seed ” as 
“the least of all seeds” that are in the earth. The state- 
ment, as Goebel well says, is made not from the stand-point 
of scientific botany, but merely from that of practical gar- 
dening, comparing the kinds of seeds most usual at the 
time. What is meant by the illustration is plain enough. 
It is intended to compare the smallness of the beginning 
with the astonishing nature of the growth of the kingdom 
in its ultimate development. It is small at the first, and 


ITS ORGANISM A SHELTER FOR THE NATIONS. 87 


it is part of the divine plan that it should be so, as inti- 
mated in the words “ which a man took ; ” but wait until 
it grows. If as a seed it is “ distinguished from other 
seeds by its smallness, as a plant ( orav avgrjOfj) it excels 
all plants belonging to the same category in magnitude. 
As the mustard-seed during the process of growth seems 
to change even its species, passing from an herb to a tree, 
so the kingdom of heaven passes into the likeness of a 
great world state.” * The transformation from the con- 
dition of the kingdom represented in the earlier parables, 
is complete. It will be noted, however, that the apparent 
change does not destroy the principle of organic unity. 
The notion that the Christian Church sprung all at once 
into existence upon the death of its founder, as a separate 
and isolated divine creation, is a notion that will not bear 
the test of history. During all the time between the 
death of Christ and the downfall of Jerusalem (nearly half 
a century), the Church was still like a garden plant.t The 
Gentile economy, represented by converts like Cornelius 
the centurion, lay enfolded in the Jewish, as the foetus in 
its mother’s womb. The downfall of Jerusalem was the 

* Stier. 

f “ Jesus certainly did not abruptly break with the synagogue, and for the 
simple reason that He did not intend to set His Church in opposition to the 
synagogue, but, on the contrary, to retain while He transformed that in- 
stitution, to infuse into its enfeebled frame the pure and vital marrow of His 
gospel, and thus to raise it to a new life of youth and health. . . . The 

Christian Church, in the idea of its founder, was to be an organic product of 
the religious germ which He had Himself deposited, growing and developing 
spontaneously by virtue of what we may call, by analogy with that which 
we find in the physical world, the formative instinct. ,} — Reuss, Christian 
Theology , pp. 204, 205. 


88 THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN BY VIRTUE OF 


birth-pang of the Catholic Church. Then it was that the 
wall of separation, in the providence of God, was broken 
down, and the garden herb began to grow into a great 
tree. The change, moreover, took place by a regular 
process of organic growth. It was from the parent stock 
of the seed of Abraham that the branches shot forth into 
all the world. It was from Jerusalem, as a centre, that the 
branches shot forth to cover Samaria, then Antioch, then 
Ephesus, then shot across the Hellespont to cover with 
their shadow Greece and Rome, and the islands of the 
West. All this externally ; internally, also, the order and 
ritual of the Church were developed by a regular process 
of organic growth from the Jewish. The Christian Sun- 
day by degrees took the place of the Jewish Sabbath. 
The churches in Asia Minor, for a long time, killed the 
paschal lamb at Easter; but gradually the Jewish Passover 
gave way to the full Christian rite : so Whitsunday took 
the place of Pentecost. As the old order passed away, 
the new took its place, like the winged Psyche rising out 
of the chrysalis, which, during the period of transforma- 
tion, served it for a covering. It will be seen, then, that 
the symbol of the mustard is one of the most profound 
and pregnant of all our Lord’s symbols, and is specially 
chosen to set forth the change which passed over the 
Church during the period of its growth from a garden 
herb, as it was under the Jewish economy, to a great tree, 
shooting forth its branches into all the world. 

The herb “ becomes a tree .” The tree, as a symbol of 
organic unity and imperial power, is an image familiar to 


ITS ORGANISM A SHELTER FOR THE NATIONS. 89 


the prophets and the earlier Scriptures. Nebuchadnezzar, 
in his vision, saw his great empire represented under the 
form of a “ tree,” which “ grew and was strong — the leaves 
thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much : the beasts 
of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of heaven 
dwelt in the boughs thereof.” * Ezekiel has a similar 
description of the Assyrian empire : “ All the fowls of 
heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his 
branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their 
young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations.” + 
We have in the same prophet (chap. xvii. 22) a sublime 
announcement of the kingdom of the Messiah, under the 
form of a tree. The “ tender twig,” planted “ in the moun- 
tain of the height of Israel,” grows up into a “ mighty 
tree,” and “under its boughs” “dwell all fowl of every 
wing.” The Church Catholic, as seen in prophetic vision, 
is to be of the nature of an imperial power, with its branches 
spreading out into all the world. “ The emblem of the 
tree,” says a thoughtful and cautious writer,^ “ would seem 
to represent the Church not merely as visible, but as hie- 
rarchical. In this latter respect imagination could have 
furnished us no figure more appropriate. The visible hie- 
rarchical Church is, indeed, as a tree, dividing first into 
two trunks, Eastern and Western ; then into several stems, 
representative of national churches ; then into yet smaller 
stems, corresponding to ecclesiastical provinces ; then into 
smaller still, answering to dioceses; and finally into the 
smallest of all, parochial churches. It is to be observed 

* Dan. iv. 11, 12. f Ezek. xxxi. 6 . \ Alex. Knox. 


90 THE KINGDOM OF HE 4 FEN BY VIRTUE OF 


that such exactly was the form of the visible Church at the 
period which has been supposed to belong eminently to this 
parable. And as it is sure that the Church could not have 
grown into such a form without providential direction, so 
the reality of such an event, to be manifested in due time, 
and to remain unaltered for at least twelve successive cen- 
turies, could not be unknown to the Omniscient Speaker.” 

It is worthy of note, moreover, that the language of the 
prophets, from which the image of the tree is taken, indi- 
cates a change similar to that described in the parable. 
The “tender twig ’’when “planted in the mountain of 
the height of Israel ” is to become a goodly cedar, even as 
the garden herb becomes in process of growth a great 
tree. Nor does the correspondence between the parable 
and the prophecy end here. In both mention is made of 
the fowls of the air coming to lodge in the branches. 
“Under it,” says Ezekiel, “shall dwell all fowl of every 
wing : in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they 
dwell.” The Book of the Revelation, in like manner, 
speaks of “ the leaves of the tree ” of life as for “ the heal- 
ing of the nations.” The tree of life, in other words, is 
not only to yield fruit for those who are permitted to eat 
thereof, but it is also to have the subsidiary effect of 
restoring society and of imparting a new vigor to national 
life. “The leaves of the tree ’’are for “ the healing of 
the nations.” * It will be enough, in illustration of what 
is meant, to quote a passage from Guizot, in which he 
speaks of the benefits which the Church by virtue of its 

* Rev. xxii. 2. 


ITS ORGANISM A SHELTER FOR THE NATIONS. 9 1 


organization conferred upon the world, when the Roman 
empire was crumbling into ruins under the attacks of the 
barbarians : “ At the end of the fourth and the beginning 
of the fifth century Christianity was no longer a simple 
belief, it was an institution, it had formed itself into a 
corporate body. It had its government, a body of priests; 
a settled ecclesiastical polity for the regulation of their 
different functions; revenues, independent means of influ- 
fluence. It had the rallying-points suitable to a great 
society in its provincial, national, and general councils, in 
which were wont to be debated, in common, the affairs 
of the society. In a word, the Christian religion at this 
epoch was not merely a religion, it was a Church. Had 
it not been a Church, it is hard to say what would have 
been its fate in the general convulsion which attended 
the breaking up of the Roman empire. Looking to 
worldly means, putting out of the question the aids and 
superintending power of divine providence, and consider- 
ing only the natural effects of natural causes, it would be 
difficult to say how Christianity, if it had continued what 
it was at first, a mere belief \ an individual conviction , could 
have withstood the shock received by the dissolution of 
the Roman empire, and the invasion of the barbarians. 
At a later period, when it became an institution, an estab- 
lished Church, it fell in Asia and North Africa upon an 
invasion of a like kind — that of the Mohammedans ; and 
circumstances seem to point out that it is even more 
likely such would have been its fate at the fall of the 
Roman empire. At that time there existed none of 


92 THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN BY VIRTUE OF 


those means by which, in the present day, moral influ- 
ences become established or rejected without the aid of 
institutions ; none of those means by which an abstract 
truth now makes way, gains an authority over mankind, 
governs their actions, and directs their movements. Noth- 
ing of the kind existed in the fourth century; nothing 
which could give to simple ideas and personal opinions 
so much weight and power. Hence I think it may be 
assumed that only a society firmly established under a 
powerful government and rules of discipline could hope 
to bear up amid such disasters — could hope to weather 
so violent a storm. I think, then, humanly speaking, that 
it is not too much to aver, that in the fourth and fifth cen- 
turies it was the Christian Church that saved Christianity; 
that it was the Christian Church, with its institutions, 
its magistrates, its authority — the Christian Church which 
struggled so vigorously to prevent the interior dissolution 
of the empire, which struggled against barbarism, and, in 
fact, overcame the barbarian ; it was the Church, I say, 
which became the great connecting link — the principle of 
civilization between the Roman and the barbarian world. 
It is the state of the Church, then, rather than religion 
strictly understood — rather than pure and simple religion, 
which all believers might regard as the highest triumph — 
that we must look at in the fifth century in order to dis- 
cover what influence Christianity had at this time upon 
modern civilization, what are the elements it has intro- 
duced into it.”* Mr. Green, in like manner, in his 

* History of Civilization , vol. i., p. 59. 


ITS ORGANISM A SHELTER FOR THE NATIONS. 93 


“ History of the English People,” bears unconscious wit- 
ness to the truth of the parable in speaking of the work 
of Archbishop Theodore in England. “In his arrange- 
ment of dioceses,” he says, “and the way in which he 
grouped them round the see of Canterbury, in his na- 
tional synods and ecclesiastical canons, Theodore did, 
unconsciously, a political work. The old divisions of 
kingdoms and tribes about him, divisions which had 
sprung, for the most part, from mere accidents of the 
conquest, were now breaking down. The smaller states 
were by this time practically absorbed by the three 
larger ones, and of these three Mercia and Wessex were 
compelled to bow to the superiority of Northumbria. 
The tendency to national unity which was to character- 
ize the new England had thus declared itself ; but the 
policy of Theodore clothed with a sacred form, and sur- 
rounded with divine sanctions, a limit, which as yet rested 
on no basis but the sword. The single throne of the 
one Primate of Canterbury accustomed men’s minds to the 
thought of a single throne for their one temporal over- 
lord. The regular organization of priest to bishop, of 
bishop to primate, in the administration of the Church, 
supplied a mould in which the civil organization of the 
state quietly shaped itself. Above all, the councils gath- 
ered by Theodore were the first of our national gather- 
ings for general legislation. It was at a much later time 
that the wise men of Wessex, or Northumbria, or Mercia, 
learned to come together in the Witanagemote of all Eng- 
land. The synods which Theodore convened, as religi- 


94 THE kingdom of heaven by virtue of 


ously representative of the whole English nation, led the 
way, by their example, to our national parliaments. The 
canons which these synods enacted led the way to a na- 
tional system of law.” It is a notable illustration, it may 
be added, of the way in which the leaves of the tree were 
for the healing of the nations. The mission of early 
Roman Christianity, as contradistinguished from feudal- 
ized Romanism, under the name of the papacy, would 
appear to have been to transmit the blessings of Roman 
civilization to the nations which were being brought in 
to infuse new life into the decayed empire. 

The teaching of the parable, it will be seen, then, is much 
more than the bald and trite statement, that the kingdom 
is to grow from a small beginning to a great world-power. 
It is not only to grow, but it is to grow organically, not 
sporadically. And by virtue of its organism it is to afford 
shelter and protection to nations as well as to individuals. 
In other words, there are indirect as well as direct pur- 
poses to be served by the Church regarded as a society. 
It will minister to social ends, and it will afford the vari- 
ous forms of national life throughout the world a tempo- 
rary shelter, where they will be able to lodge and build 
their nests for a time, before dividing up into distinctive 
forms of national life. Nations , as Martensen and Lut- 
hardt remind us, are just as much a divine creation as 
individuals, and they are to share in the blessings of 
redemption, so far as social influence is concerned, just as 
much as individuals. The Church has a healing power 
on the nation, and without it national life will become 


ITS ORGANISM A SHELTER FOR THE NATIONS. 95 


pure Caesarism and mere despotic sway. We may say 
with Reuss,* then, that when Jesus designed to found a 
Church, “ the object of this institution could be none 
other than to preserve and strengthen the new life in 
individuals by mutual contact and reciprocal influence, 
and to diffuse it in new and higher spheres.” And with 
Luthardt,t “ that it bestows a higher meaning and dignity 
even upon individual life and its small doings to be able 
to say that even our actions, be they ever so insignificant, 
do, if they be but laudable, contribute to the accomplish- 
ment of the high moral task of mankind, and shall be 
interwoven by God into that great web of history, whose 
final result is the kingdom of God — the kingdom of truth, 
righteousness, and perfection.” “ Christ,” says another , X 
“ was not merely a religious teacher who enunciated great 
religious truths, and left scholars to promulgate these 
truths, and left the truths to work their own effects in 
the minds and, ultimately, in the conduct of men. He 
organized a society, that society He called a kingdom, 
and His design was that this kingdom should embrace 
mankind. As Moses was a great statesman, who out of 
the twelve tribes organized a nation and a Church, so 
Christ was a great statesman, who out of the nations 
of the world organized an empire and a Church. This 
kingdom was an essential part of Christ’s plan for the 
salvation of the world. It was the great means by which 

* History of Christian Theology in the Apostolic Age , p. 204. 

f The Fundamental Truths of Christianity , p. 220. 

% Cutts’ Devotional Life of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 


9 6 


THE KINGDOM OF HE A FEN, ETC . 


He proposed to apply His spiritual gifts to mankind, and 
work out the design of His providence in the future of 
the world’s history.” 


NOTES. 

Ver. 31. — It is now conceded that the mustard-seed spoken of in the par- 
able is the Sinapis nigra , and not the Salvadora Persica of Irby and Mangles 
and Dr. Royle. 

Ver. 32. — The birds of the air “make tents” (KarararKrivodv), or build their 
nests in the “ branches of the tree j” they do not, as Tristram says, merely 
“perch or rest there.” It is to be noted, however, that the sojourn is a tem- 
porary, and not an abiding one. 




IV. 


£tie ‘SSloraau atxxT tlxe ^caucu. 





IV. 


$Txj e momatx ami tTxje %c<xxiax. 


THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN NOT TO VEGETATE AS A 
HIDDEN SECT , BUT IS TO QUICKEN AND TRANSFORM 
THE WORLD BY INFUSING INTO IT THE PRINCIPLE 
OF A NEW LIFE . 

Another parable spake he unto them : The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, 
which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. — 
S. Matt. xiii. 33. 

It is as true of the kingdom of heaven, it would seem, 
as it is in the affairs of common life, that the man is not 
without the woman in the Lord. Here too, as there, there 
are matters of practical detail — home cares and duties — 
which can be discharged by others, equally as well as by 
the head of the family himself. We see this principle 
acknowledged twice in the course of our Lord’s parabolic 
teaching. The parable of the good shepherd seeking the 
lost sheep is supplemented in S. Luke by the woman who 
lights a candle, and sweeps the house diligently until she 
finds the piece of silver she had lost. And here the man , 
who takes the seed and plants it, is followed up by the 
woman , whose duty it is to attend to matters of domestic 
care. It is clear that we are being led on, step by step, 


100 


THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 


to new developments in the mystery of the kingdom, in 
matters more immediately affecting its interior manage- 
ment and administration. It is the man’s part to do the 
field work, and to attend to out-door occupations ; it is the 
woman’s to knead the dough, bake the bread, and convert 
the seed sown to purposes of domestic use. As in the 
preceding parable, we had the distinction drawn between 
the state of probation and the state of glorification, so in 
the difference between the man and the woman, we have 
reference made to the economy of the Son and the 
economy of the Holy Spirit. Some things there are in the 
founding of the kingdom, which are peculiar to Christ in 
His own person; other things there are which appertain 
to the operation of the Holy Ghost. It is His to work 
secretly and invisibly; as it was Christ’s to reveal the 
Father openly before the eyes of men. 

But why is the economy of the Spirit, as contrasted 
with the economy of the incarnation, represented under 
the form of a woman ? Auberlen * suggests the answer. 
All autonomy of the human spirit is a thing hateful to 
God. It strikes at the very root of the relation of the 
creature to the Creator. The things which are especially 
characteristic of the woman — her being in subjection, her 
attitude of receptivity, the surrendering of herself up in 
love — these mark the true position of man in relation 
to his Maker. It is this receptive womanly position 
of human nature which is the notable characteristic of 
the congregation of the faithful, as opposed to the proud, 
* Daniel and the Revelation . 


NOT TO VEGETATE AS A HIDDEN SECT. 


IOI 


self-contained spirit of the world. The Church, in every 
age, finds her true prototype in her who in response to 
the message of the angel said, “ Behold the handmaid of 
the Lord ; be it unto me according to thy word.” * It is 
among such the Holy Spirit makes His habitation. The 
poor in spirit, the meek, the contrite — these are the true 
children of the kingdom. In the man and the mustard- 
seed, then, we have portrayed the work of Christ in His 
own person in founding and organizing the kingdom. In 
the woman and the leaven, on the other hand, we have 
set forth in contradistinction the mission and work of the 
Holy Spirit in the economy of the Church. 

The parable of the woman and the leaven, as Stier has 
observed, holds a middle place in the series of which it is 
a part. It forms, accordingly, a point of transition in the 
revelation of the mystery, and serves as the introduction 
to a new stage of development. We are now to see the 
vital principle disengaged + and left free, as it were, to do 
its work in a new way. The heavenly principle in the 
earlier stages of the planting and growth of the kingdom 
appears in subjection to the earthly, and is, in a measure, 
dependent upon it. Now things undergo a change. The 
heavenly acts upon the earthly, and transmutes it into a 
likeness to itself. % Nor may we omit to notice that with 
the change in the images employed there comes a cor- 
responding change in the mystery of the kingdom itself. 

* S. Luke i. 38. t stier. 

\ “Here, then, the transformation of human nature, of society, of insti- 
tutions, of customs, in short, of the whole Cosmos, or the gradual regenera- 
tion (S. Matt. xix. 28), forms the principal point of view.”— Lange. 


102 


THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 


There is a steady advance marked by the new purposes 
to which the product of the soil is now put. We have 
still to do with the staple of man’s life (for it belongs to the 
economy of the Spirit to take of the things of Christ and 
give them unto us), but it is in an entirely new relation. 
It is no longer seed-corn sown in the earth with which we 
are dealing! The seed has sprung up, and has brought 
forth fruit. It has, moreover, been subjected to certain 
outward influences not of a natural, but of an artificial 
and domestic kind, in order that it may be adapted to 
new purposes. It has been ground in the mill, and it is 
now going to be made ready for domestic uses. As the 
vital principle has been disengaged, so also the organic 
structure has been subjected to many important changes. 
The organism is destroyed, so that it is no more mere seed- 
corn. The corn has been turned into meal, and then, in 
order that the leaven may do its work, the meal has been 
subjected to the action of heat and water and made up 
into a sponge. “ Both moisture and some degree of heat 
are needful in order that leaven may permeate the mass. 
Leaven hid among dry flour will not act upon it. The 
flour must be brought into suitable condition by moist- 
ure, in order that the energy of the leaven manifest it- 
self.” * 

What, then, is the particular phase of the mystery of 
the kingdom which the parable is intended to illustrate ? 
What is the change in the economy of the kingdom which 
corresponds to the change in the images? It is the change 

* Calderwood. 


NOT TO VEGETATE AS A HIDDEN SECT. IO3 


from the organic and outward to the inward and spirit- 
ual . We no longer have to deal with the Church as an 
external polity, but as an inward principle, transmuting 
whatever it comes into contact with to a likeness to itself.* 
It is one thing to attract the nations by an exhibition of 
order and strength ; it is another to change their social 
habits, their laws and customs, their inmost spirit and 
secret life. The main object of the parable, then, is to set 
forth the all-transforming power of Christianity as a social 
influence. The whole imagery of the woman and the 
house, of household work as contrasted with field work, 
indicates this. The Church is not only to restore the 
framework of human society by the aid it will furnish the 
State ; it is also to restore and transform it inwardly by 
the influence it will have upon social manners and cus- 
toms through its institutions, and the change which is to 
be effected by it upon the tone and spirit of civilized 
life. 

But what is leaven ? “ Leaven is- the familiar agent for 

the production of light, palatable bread. Microscopic in- 
vestigation has quite recently shown that the leavening 
process results in the rapid growth of a plant, propagating 
cells in the midst of surrounding material, brought into a 
favorable condition. It involves a species of fermentation, 
which makes the dough porous, exposing it more readily 
to the action of fire. Leaven was originally obtained by 

* “The two parables are intimately related. That was of the inherent 
self-developing power of the kingdom of heaven as a seed, containing in itself 
the principle of expansion ; this of the power which it possesses of penetrat- 
ing and assimilating a foreign mass till all be taken up in it.” — A lford. 


104 


THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 


the decaying process in the dough itself ; now more com- 
monly it is taken in the form of yeast, generated in brew- 
ing. Leaven is thus an agency obtained in the process of 
decay, which nevertheless contributes toward preservation 
of the mass pervaded by it.”* When we turn to the sym- 
bolism of Holy Scripture, we have a use of leaven cor- 
responding exactly to that which is given in the parable. 
While the use of leaven was forbidden at other times, the 
“ two loaves ” presented at the feast of Pentecost were to 
be of “ fine flour, baked with leaven.” We have the ful- 
filment of the type on the day of Pentecost, when the 
Holy Ghost descended from on high, and took possession 
of the disciples, already chosen and prepared for His ad- 
vent, and made into one both Jews and Gentiles, and pre- 
sented them as a thank-offering to the Lord of the har- 
vest. We are brought, then, as well by the symbolism of 
nature as of Holy Scripture itself, to the conclusion that 
leaven, working as it does by fermentation, and obtained 
by a process of decay, is the type of the Holy Spirit in 
His operation upon human nature. Not until Christ died 
was the Holy Ghost given ; and the multitudes, when 
they saw the operation, cried out, on the day of Pentecost, 
“ These men are full of new wine.” The law of His oper- 
ation is, from the beginning to the end, the same. If we 
apply it to Christ Himself, we see, first of all, in Him 
a portion of that which is to be worked upon separated 
from the mass. A body is prepared for Him. We see 
human nature in Him, subjected to certain outward influ- 
* Calderwood. 


NOT TO VEGETATE AS A HIDDEN SECT. 105 


ences, by which the organic process is destroyed, and the 
wheat is ground into meal. It is after undergoing all 
these changes that the seed-corn is fitted for domestic use, 
and becomes, after death, the medium through which the 
Holy Spirit is communicated and bestowed. Or if we 
take the parable, again, in its application to the Apostles 
and their work, we see the operation of the same princi- 
ples. The Twelve were like a portion of the dough sepa- 
rated from the mass. “ Like a small lump of leaven which 
a woman hid in a great heap of meal, so Christ’s founding 
work plants the kingdom of God in an inconsiderable, in- 
significant form, amid the great, wide human world, so that 
it disappears in that world. But as that slight quantity 
of leaven, in virtue of its assimilative power, appropriates 
and works in the great mass of meal until the latter is 
thoroughly leavened, so the kingdom of God, in virtue of 
the renewing and transforming influences inherent in it, 
will exert an increasingly progressive influence on the hu- 
man world surrounding it, pervading it with God’s word, 
and subjecting it to God’s holy will, and by this means 
transforming it, until in its entirety it shall have assumed 
the nature of the kingdom of God ; until humanity, as a 
whole, shall have become the community of God’s king- 
dom.” Goebel (whose words we have just quoted) says 
rightly, that the leaven is not “ the word of God or the 
Gospel : ” “ the word of God may be called the leaven- 
ing virtue in the leaven, but not the leaven itself.” But he 
fails to discriminate between the leaven itself and the 
portion of the dough specially prepared to receive it. It 


io 6 


THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 


is for this reason that he refuses to recognize any differ- 
ence between the “ man ” and the “ woman ” in the two 
parables, and denies that in the woman we have a type 
of the Church. But as has been already observed, leaven 
introduced into dry meal will not act upon it of itself. 
The flour must undergo some preparation before the 
leaven will take effect. It must be mixed with water, and 
brought more or less under the influence of heat. In like 
manner* “ the good seed ” has to be prepared by outward 
influences, and by inward or domestic agencies as well, 
before it is fitted for domestic use. The corn has to be 
ground into meal in the mill ; it has to be sifted and 
bolted ; it has to be kneaded. All this requires human 
agency, and careful preparation for a special end. If we 
would take in the full meaning of the parable, we are not 
only to think of the woman, but of a household , and of 
busy in-door work. It is when we contrast the woman in 
the house, working in the meal, with the man in the field, 
scattering the seed, that we feel we are moving in differ- 
ent spheres; and have set before us the mystery of the 
Church in its influence upon society , through the agency 
of its various ministries laboring for the propagation of the 
Gospel. The Church, we are reminded, is not a mere 
hierarchy, existing for itself and its own aggrandizement 
in the world. That has been the mistake of Roman 
Christianity. If the Church, with a view to resist the evil 
that is in the world, and to maintain discipline among her 
members, must assume an outward and organic form, she 
is also to be a spiritual power, which, through the influ- 


NOT TO VEGETATE AS A HIDDEN SECT. IO7 


ence of her members (assimilating with the world, even at 
the risk of corruption), is to mould society into new forms, 
and penetrate it with a new spirit and a new life. And 
here it will be observed that we have not to consider only 
the effect of the leaven on the foreign mass into which it 
is introduced, but the kneading of the fermented portion 
into the foreign mass and the working of it up into it. It 
is for this that a ministry is needed. “ As leaven will 
not spread of itself, so the external agency is necessary for 
the extension of the kingdom, and, therefore, a part of its 
appointed order.” Stier says that the Xafiovcra here is to 
be taken more strictly than the foregoing Xaficov. And 
Archbishop Trench brings out the full force of the expres- 
sion when he remarks that “ the leaven . . . mingled 

with the lump . . . is at the same time different from 

it ; for the woman took it from elsewhere to mingle it 
therein ; and even such is the Gospel, a kingdom not of 
the world (John xviii. 36), not the unfolding of any 
powers which already existed therein ; a kingdom not ris- 
ing, as the secular powers, ‘ out of the earth ’ (Dan. vii. 17), 
but a new power brought into the world from above ; not 
a philosophy, but a divine revelation; . . . a new and 

quickening power cast into the midst of an old and dying 
world, a centre of life round which all the moral energies, 
which still survived, and all which itself should awaken, 
might form and gather ; by the help of which the world 
might constitute itself anew.” It will be seen, then, that 
the truth which is gradually being developed, and for 
which the minds of the disciples are being prepared, is 


io8 


THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 


that the kingdom, after its first planting by Christ Him- 
self, is to be left to the agency and operation of the Holy 
Ghost, and the disciples who have been prepared for His 
reception. It is through the operation and agency of the 
disciples themselves, and the influence of their lives on 
others,* in the way of contact and personal relationship, that 
the world is to be gradually restored, and Christianity is 
to be made a social force among men. As “ leaven leavens 
the whole lump by affecting each particle, so Christianity 
leavens the world by transforming or regulating individual 
souls.” f 

But the Apostles themselves, and all who are to be made 
the medium of influencing others, through the agency 
of the Holy Spirit, must be made fit for their work by 
a process similar to that by which the corn was turned 
into meal. They must crucify the old man, and sunder 
the bonds which bind them to the old life, as in every 
offering laid upon the altar, before the sacred fire touched 
it, the organic structure had to be destroyed. They must 
be subjected to trial and persecution, in order that the husk 
may be separated from the kernel of the wheat. This 
outwardly ; and inwardly they must be incorporated into 
the society of the Church itself, by the influences of 
sacramental grace operating through divinely appointed 
channels, both of a personal and a spiritual kind. An old 
English writer (quoted by Archbishop Trench $ in illustra- 

* T b (ynudlv airal (ifiy yiverou t$ ttolKiv. — S. CHRYS. 

f Sadler. 

X The Study of Words, pp. 16, 17. 


NOT TO VEGETATE AS A HIDDEN SECT IO9 


tion of the word “ tribulation ”) has put all this so well 
that I venture to quote the passage at length : 

“ Till from the straw the flail the corn doth beat, 

Until the chaff be purged from the wheat, 

Yea, till the mill the grain in pieces tear, 

The richness of the flour will scarce appear. 

So, till men’s persons great afflictions touch, 

If worth be found, their worth is not so much, 

Because, like wheat in straw, they have not yet 
That value which in thrashing they may get. 

For till the bruising flails of God’s corrections 
Have thrashed out of us our vain affections ; 

Till those corruptions which do misbecome us 
Are by thy Sacred Spirit winnowed from us ; 

Until from us the straw of worldly treasures. 

Till all the dusty chaff of empty pleasures, 

Yea, till His flail upon us He doth lay 
To thrash the husk of this our flesh away, 

And leave the soul uncovered ; nay, yet more, 

Till God shall make our very spirit poor, 

We shall not up to highest wealth aspire ; 

But then we shall ; and that is my desire.” 

Unlike the kingdoms of the world, moreover, the king- 
dom of heaven is to be a silent , hidden influence among 
men. It is to operate unseen, as a personal, moral agent, 
not by physical force, or through the dominion of law. 
We have here another note of the economy of the Holy 
Spirit. There is a reason, and a very sufficient reason, 
why Jesus, after accomplishing His work, should withdraw 
Himself, and leave the operation of His grace to an unseen 
agent. “ Henceforth,” says S. Paul, “ we know no man 
after the flesh ; yea, though we have known Christ after 
the flesh, yet now know we him no more.” * It is hard to 

* 2 Cor. v. 16. 


1 10 


THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 


believe that the presence of Christ in the flesh should be a 
hindrance rather than a help to the progress of the faith. 
But the will must be left free. It is by the spiritual eye 
we must see Him. He must be morally apprehended, 
not by the senses. We must desire Him, not for His 
outward beauty, but for His inward loveliness and grace. 
For all these reasons the Spirit works unseen, unknown, 
unfelt ; silently drawing and influencing men through the 
conscience, the judgment, and the heart ; transforming 
them in ways they know not, and by influences they are 
not conscious of, into a likeness to Christ. 

The kingdom of heaven, then, unlike the kingdom of 
this world, began its work in a humble, lowly way, as a 
woman works at her domestic task. It operated quietly, 
unseen, creeping from individual to individual, until its 
secret influence was felt throughout the length and 
breadth of the Roman empire. Its steady, secret growth 
was, indeed, a marvel to the powers of the world. When 
they awoke to the fact of its existence, they found its 
presence everywhere ; it had quietly taken possession of 
all classes of society, and was all-victorious, in the power 
of a strength peculiarly its own. 

There is, moreover, method in the way the woman goes 
to work. It would be strange, indeed, if it were other- 
wise. God in nature is a God of order ; how can it be 
different in the economy of grace ? We find, then, as a 
matter of fact, that God in His providence had long been 
preparing the world for the setting up of His heavenly 
kingdom. The evangelical preparation was not confined 


NOT TO VEGETATE AS A HIDDEN SECT. 


1 1 1 


to the people of the Jews only. The Greeks and Romans, 
likewise, had their work to do in the setting up and estab- 
lishing of the kingdom. If Christianity is to conquer by 
the word, and not by the sword, it must be provided with 
a language which will furnish it with a fitting vehicle of 
logical expression. It was not accidental that the He- 
brew Scriptures, long before the coming of Christ into the 
world, had been translated into Greek. But Alexander 
of Macedon did more than make Greek the universal 
language. His great glory is that, after conquering by the 
sword, instead of making men slaves, he introduced the 
principles of Greek civilization. The city, and civic life, 
are Greek institutions. Christianity found an element 
already at hand when it began to form its polity and its 
social life. Greek civilization provided it with the soil in 
which the Church as a polity was able at once to strike 
root and grow. 

Over and above this preparation for the formulating of 
the faith, and the cultivation of a social life based on prin- 
ciples of law and order, the Church found in the Roman 
empire the means ready at hand to extend herself as an 
imperial power throughout the world. The idea of uni- 
versal brotherhood struck root, and found a soil, in the 
principle of Roman citizenship. The Roman roads were 
the avenues along which the message of the Gospel sped 
to the ends of the earth. Roman law was the moral 
foundation on which the civitas Dei was founded. We 
can understand, then, why the inscription upon the cross 
was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. We can un- 


1 1 2 


THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 


derstand, also, why the woman introduces the leaven into 
the three measures of meal. It is the recognition of the 
fact of the evangelical preparation, by which the world 
was prepared for the advent of the Messianic kingdom. 
Christianity did not begin its work among barbaric races. 
It was not to wild men that the Gospel was first preached. 
The Church, in going forth upon its mission, availed itself 
of all that had been done in Greek and Roman civiliza- 
tion. When the barbarians came in they were received 
into the empire, and became incorporated with it by mak- 
ing its laws their laws, its language their language, its 
manners their manners ; and so they became members of 
the Christian society known in the East under the name 
of the Graeco-Roman empire, and in the West as the 
Holy Roman empire. Without Constantine and Charle- 
magne, Christian civilization, humanly speaking, never 
could have been established in the world. 

And the leavening process is to go on “ till the whole 
is leavened .” “The symbol of leaven,” it is to be re- 
membered, “implies more than diffusive power . Diffu- 
sion through the flour is as characteristic of water, where 
no leaven is used, as of leaven itself. . . . Thus it 

appears that more is involved in the action of leaven 
than diffusion through the mass. There is an expan- 
sive power at work, altering the character of the ma- 
terial on which it operates.” We do not exhaust the 
mission of Christianity when we think of the organic 
Church, and the preparation of believers for the world to 
come; Christianity has an influence beyond the Church 


NOT TO VEGETATE AS A HIDDEN SECT. 1 1 3 

proper and its own immediate disciples, it introduces into 
national life new elements of a social character. If it took 
from the Greeks the idea of a popular assembly and civic 
life, it leavened both by the introduction of a new prin- 
ciple unknown among the Greeks before : women were 
admitted to hear the great doctrines of the divine ex- 
istence, and the life hereafter, discussed, as well as men. 
Slaves shared equal privileges with the free-born ; even 
children were recognized as capable of comprehending 
the heavenly mysteries. Liberty in the true and absolute 
sense of the word, as identical with free-will and moral 
agency in every child of man, is the product of the Gospel. 
As with the state so with the family. The sacrament of 
marriage is in the introduction of a new element into the 
old Roman notion, as based on the law of nature. The 
Christian wife is not, like the Roman matron, in the po- 
sition of a slave. The father is not, in the Christian point 
of view, invested with absolute rights. He is the head 
of the wife, as Christ is the head of the Church, and the 
Saviour of the body. The woman is in subjection, but it 
is as a helpmate for the man, who can stand up in his 
presence. It is love, not law, mutual self-sacrifice and 
self-surrender, not self-indulgence and love of pleasure, 
which bind the man and the woman together in the Lord. 
So Christianity, in like manner, tempered with mercy the 
severity of Roman law, mitigated the horrors of war, 
sold the vessels of the altar to redeem from slavery the 
captives, took the orphans into its arms, and provided a 
shelter for them. It did not destroy existing institutions, 
8 


1 14 THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 

but Christianized them. It did not obliterate social dis- 
tinctions or distinctions of race, but taught all men of 
every degree and kind to love as brethren. As it is of the 
nature of leaven to change the character of the foreign 
mass into which it is introduced by expanding it, making 
the dough porous and more readily susceptible of the ac- 
tion of fire and heat, so is it with Christianity; it creates 
nothing new, but in all things acknowledges the family 
and the state and social life to be of God, at the same 
time it alters their character by the introduction into 
them of a new divine-human ideal and archetype in the 
person of the God-man Christ Jesus, and those who be- 
lieve in Him. “ If we would understand history,” Marten- 
sen says, “we must pay attention to the fact that Christi- 
anity, on its first appearance, plants two commencements, 
two developments. It plants the germ of God’s king- 
dom, sows the seed of the operations of grace and the 
gifts of grace, institutes the Church and the congregation. 
It speaks with divine authority, completes the law, and 
establishes the divine economy in human society, offering 
to men God’s saving and sanctifying grace. But it de- 
serves to exercise a saving and educating influence on 
beings who are called to universal liberty, and who, in 
a relative sense, have the centre-point of their life in 
themselves. Therefore, at the same time it plants the 
germ, sows the seed of an independent kingdom of hu- 
manity, with the whole affluence of man’s natural endow- 
ments and natural powers, which develop themselves in 
his worldly relation in culture and civilization. While 


NOT TO VEGETATE AS A HIDDEN SECT. 


5 


the Gospel redeems man to life and personality in God, 
it fits him, at the same time, for life and personality in 
the world. It is this moment of the operations of Chris- 
tianity, in which all within the bounds of Christendom 
partake, whether believers or unbelievers, whether for 
Christ or opposed to Him. In order to distinguish it 
from redemption, we designate this moment, which has 
so great a significance in the divine plan of salvation, as 
emancipation — that is to say, deliverance from the natu- 
ral and national bonds of the ancient times. Enlightened 
government, marriage, and household decency, refinement 
and science, every commendable form of life, participate, 
as the times advance, in the emancipation, so far as the 
principle of personality, together with the rights of man 
contained in this sense, come into development.” 

The significance of the superadded clause, “ till the 
whole is leavened ,” then, lies in the notion of the slow 
and gradual advance of Christianity, regarded as a moral 
agent, in opposition to the expectation of the Jews, that 
the coming of the Messianic kingdom would be immediate 
and like a flash. “ Jesus was never for a moment misled 
by any false estimate of the relation between His pur- 
pose and teaching, on the one hand, and the dispositions 
of men, on the other. He was far from expecting a rapid 
and dazzling triumph, brought about by a miraculous 
hastening of events ; but He was none the less fully as- 
sured of the ultimate issue of the conflict commenced by 
Him between the good and evil principle in the world. 
Between the actual state of things and the ultimate issue 


ii 6 


THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 


He contemplated a long and gradual process of fermenta- 
tion, purification, and progression. He knew, and loved 
to reiterate, that an almost imperceptible grain cast into 
prepared ground grows into a mighty tree, without the 
help of human power, solely by the action, as sure as 
mysterious, of the natural forces placed by God in the 
seed and in the soil, and watched over unceasingly by His 
good providence. He knew that a little leaven in the 
end leavens the whole lump. The idea of the slow and 
progressive development of humanity, under the healthful 
influence of the gospel element, is represented under these 
two emblems in a manner so clear and so transparent that 
they alone prove that He who employed them cannot have 
cherished the hope of a sudden revolution, destined to 
change in an abrupt and violent manner the condition of 
human kind.” 

There is a view of the world and of civilization pre- 
sented here which challenges our attention, in the face of 
an opposite view to be met with in Holy Scriptures, and 
made, unhappily, too familiar to us by the prevailing Cal- 
vinistic notions regarding the world and nature. Goebel 
touches the point exactly when, in contrasting the related 
parables of the mustard-seed and the leaven, he says : 
“ There the world appears in a merely general sense, as 
the ground on which the kingdom of God is founded and 
extends ; here , on the other hand, as the material which 
the kingdom of God pervades with its own nature, and 
thus absorbs into itself.” It will be noted, then, that 
“ the kingdom of God ” “ stands in a double relation to 


NOT TO VEGETATE AS A HIDDEN SECT. 


II 7 


this world, and regards it from a twofold point of view. 
On the one side, this world, on Account of sin, is opposed 
to the kingdom of God, and is therefore to be avoided 
and combated as evil. ‘ Love not the world, neither the 
things which are in the world ’ (i John ii. 15). ‘The friend- 
ship of the world is enmity with God ’ (Jas. iv. 14). But, 
on the other side, the world is appointed to redemption. 
‘ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only- 
begotten Son ’ (John iii. 16) ; it is capable of receiving the 
kingdom of God ; is a plastic material ( Formabile ), and it 
is fitted to be organized for the kingdom of God. The 
field is the world (Matt. xiii. 37), a field in which the 
kingdom of God may be set up ; a household where the 
relative good is not altogether illusory, but fitted to 
occupy a right relation toward the supreme God.” * Lut- 
hardt, in like manner, reminds us that “ Christianity, so 
far from annihilating, preserved, purified, received into it- 
self, and united with its very being, the cultivation of the 
ancient world, and transmitted it to posterity. It made 
no changes in the external arrangements of society ; it 
left laws and privileges, manners, conditions, customs, and 
ranks, as it found them ; but it introduced a new spirit 
into all these relations of life. It did not even externally 
abolish slavery, but it taught all to recognize in the slave 
a man, a Christian brother, and thus inwardly shattered 
that objectionable institution. It withdrew children — 
whom the heathen world had felt no scruple at destroy- 
ing, either before or after birth, because they were re- 

* Martensen’s Ethics , p. 165. 


Il8 THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 

garded as property which its possessors were fully justified 
in disposing of at their pleasure — from the arbitrary power 
of their parents, and placed them under the Saviour’s pro- 
tection, by declaring them to be, by baptism, children of 
God and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven. It creates 
a new family affection so hearty, genuine, and voluntary 
as had been hitherto unknown, and believed to be impos- 
sible. It was Christianity which broke down the wall of 
partition between ranks, nations, and states. Not before 
did there exist upon earth such a thing as international 
law, upon which in our days the whole framework of so- 
ciety depends. That history is not one continuous war 
of all against all ; that right and law form the foundation 
of national life, and that, consequently, commerce and in- 
tercourse, and general civilization of mankind, have been 
rendered possible upon earth, are blessings for which we 
are indebted to Christianity.”* 

It is worthy of note that in the case both of the “ birds 
of the air ” and the “ leaven,” as well as of the “ woman ” 
herself, symbols which in Holy Scripture have been used 
in malam partem , are, in the parables of the “ mus- 
tard-seed,” and the “ woman ” and the “ leaven,” used in 
bonam partem . The explanation we have not to go far to 
seek. Things which before the gift of the Holy Spirit 
ministered to evil, and were prostituted to wicked pur- 
poses, are now made capable of being used to good ends. 
The world-spirit, in and through which Satan ruled and 
still rules as the prince of the power of the air, since the 
* The Fundamental Truths of Christianity , pp. 275, 276. 


NOT TO VEGETATE AS A HIDDEN SECT. 


19 


Incarnation has sanctified humanity to new uses, is now 
capable of receiving the Holy Spirit, and of aiding in the 
extension of the kingdom. “ The birds of the air,” which 
in the introductory parable are represented as stealing 
away the good seed, in the parable of the mustard-seed 
come for refuge to the shelter of the branches of the great 
world-tree. In the one case they represent the spirit of 
the world in its attitude of hostility to the kingdom, 
since the world before the ascension of the Lord Jesus to 
the throne of universal sovereignty was under the control 
of the powers of evil ; but in the other case the nations of 
the earth fly to the shelter of the only power capable of 
affording them protection in the day of their distress. 
When Thiersch, failing to discriminate between these dif- 
ferent attitudes of the world-power, speaks of the birds of 
the air as wicked spirits, devils, who obtain entrance into 
the Church, when increased so as to include all nations 
and multitudes in its organization, he allows his sectarian 
spirit to get the better of him, and entirely perverts the 
meaning of the parable. It is true that birds of the air 
are fond of the mustard-seed, but it is not true that they 
are here represented as devouring “ the fruit, as the wild 
beasts make desolate the vineyard of the Lord.” Nor is 
it true that the birds “ obtain entrance into the Church ; ” 
they are represented in the parable as “ building their 
nests ” in the branches. It is not correct to say that the 
nations of the earth (as nations) ever eat of the fruit of 
the tree of life, either for good or evil. It is correct to 
say that the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the 


120 


THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN 


nations. The Church affords the nations, as such, shel- 
ter and protection ; it is of a temporary kind, however. 
There can be no organic or perpetual bond of connection 
between the Church and the State. The same is true of 
the relation of Christianity to society at large, and insti- 
tutions of every kind. It is the will of God that the 
Church should be mixed up with the world. The Church 
must recognize human society, and Christians must not 
stand aloof from it. There was a time when the Church 
had forced upon her cares of a secular kind, and the cleri- 
cal order had committed to its keeping the whole of the 
civil side of life. The Church had to accept the evil with 
the good ; and as leaven works by throwing off in the 
process of fermentation the crude elements with which 
it comes in contact, so also the Church was subjected to 
contact with much that was alien and foreign to herself. 
So much so, that she appears at times as if she had been 
hopelessly corrupted by the world ; but her divine power 
and mission are witnessed to by the fact that she has 
power, through the Spirit of Life that dwelleth in her, to 
throw off the elements foreign to her proper nature, as 
well as to impart to civilization new elements of refine- 
ment and culture. In all this, as Lange reminds us, 
“ there is nothing incompatible with the development of 
antichrist in the world, nor in the unbelief and hardening 
of individual sinners. Nay, this very dedication of life as 
a whole , in consequence of which the Church will at last 
possess and claim everything, only becomes a judgment, 
unless it be made ours by personal regeneration, just as 


NOT TO VEGETATE AS A HIDDEN SECT. 


12 1 


unbelief transforms the most glorious truths into the most 
awful and the most dangerous errors (2 Thess. ii.).” This, 
as we shall see, is to be the subject of the three parables 
which follow after. 


NOTES. 

Ver. 33. — The word iyicpiirreiv occurs only here and in the parallel passage 
in S. Luke (xiii. 20) in the New Testament. Goebel objects to Van Oos- 
terzee’s translation, knead in , as implying that “a continuous and strenuous 
mixing and kneading of the leaven into the meal takes place ; ” but the mix- 
ing is necessary to the hiding, and while it is true that the blending of the 
leaven with the meal takes place “ gradually in the fermentation after the 
act of mixing is ended,” it is also true that unless the process of kneading is 
carried on continuously until the whole batch is thoroughly worked up, the 
leavening will not be complete. The whole point of the parable would be 
lost if we were to adopt Goebel’s view, for the point, as Cotterell suggests, is, 
that while the mustard grows into a tree automatically, leaven needs for its 
introduction and effective working a ministerial agency. It is to emphasize 
this fact that the supplementary clause is added, ecos ou 4^u[x<adi] o\ov, till 
it (t h &\evpov) was entirely leavened. Leaven will not diffuse itself with- 
out working, and the woman must keep working until the whole batch is 
leavened. The two parables of the man and the mustard-seed, and the 
woman and the leaven, as Godet well observes, “form the most entire 
contrast to the picture which the Jewish imagination had formed of the 
establishment of the Messiah’s kingdom. One wave of the magic wand was 
to accomplish everything in the twinkling of an eye. In opposition to this 
superficial notion, Jesus sets the idea of a moral development which works 
by spiritual means, and takes account of human freedom, consequently 
slow and progressive.” “ How,” he asks, “ can it be maintained in view of 
such sayings that He believed in the immediate nearness of His return ? ” 

‘ ‘ ecus ou i&fic&Oy o\ov, till the whole epaph (the same size as the bath) of 
the world was leavened. Sanctificatur enim per Ecclesise velut quoddam 
fermentatis officium Scripturamque doctrinam ” (S. Ambrose, on Luke xiii. 
21). The indicative, eCv/xtoOri (not subjunctive, (vfxcodTj), shows that the whole 
world will be leavened.”— Wordsworth. 




















































































V. 

£toe ^rcasxurc girt iu tlxc fgtetO. 




V. 


$feje Qkzksuxz %i CL in thz ^xjcIxI. 


RENUNCIATION OF THE WORLD A FUNDAMENTAL 
CONDITION OF THE CHRISTIAN CALLING. 

Again : the kingdom of heaven is like unto thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, 
treasure hid in a (the) field ; the which when and buyeth that field. — S. Matt. xiii. 44. 
a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy 

In passing from the parables addressed to the multitude 
upon the shore to the parables spoken privately to the 
disciples in the house, there are two or three considera- 
tions of a preliminary kind which demand attention at 
our hands. 

1. It is, in the first place, to be remembered, that it is 
the disciples who have heard the call of the Master to 
give up all and follow Him, who are here addressed, and 
not the masses of the people at large. “ All three para- 
bles join on to the present stand-point of the disciples as 
those who, in distinction from the unbelieving masses of 
the people, have already in some way personally entered 
into the fellowship of the kingdom.” * Olshausen would 
appear to be the only commentator, of whom it can with 
truth be said that he has grasped the exact significance of 
this notable fact. He observes that “ the last three para- 


* Goebel. 


126 


RENUNCIATION OF THE WORLD A 


bles exhibit the kingdom in a way peculiar to themselves. 
They bring out the relation which men sustain to it, while 
the preceding ones had considered its nature partly in it- 
self and partly in its relation to man. This peculiarity 
makes it not improbable that, as indicated under verse 36, 
these latter parables were spoken confidentially to His 
immediate disciples, with whose relation to the kingdom 
they singularly harmonize, as indeed with all those who 
are connected with it as preachers of the Gospel. The 
abandonment, for the sake of heavenly treasure, of a man’s 
whole possessions, whether external (property, posses- 
sions) or internal (opinions, usages, general aims of life), 
the Apostles had already begun to put in practice ; and the 
Saviour here intimates that they will be required to carry 
it out.” It is worthy of note in this connection, that the 
view here taken by Olshausen is sustained by a refer- 
ence to S. Mark and S. Luke. While they differ from 
each other in their account of the parables spoken, all three 
synoptic evangelists would seem to agree in this — that 
after revealing the nature and development of the king- 
dom to the multitude, Jesus spoke in private certain sup- 
plementary parables to his disciples, specially addressed 
to themselves, in their capacity of teachers of the faith> 
and responsible for the extension of the kingdom. He 
reminds them that His object, in putting them in posses- 
sion of secrets not made known to the multitude, was as 
in the lighting of a lamp, that the flame might give light 
to all that are in the house ; and that just according to the 
degree that they are diligent in preaching to others so will 


CONDITION OF THE CHE/ST/AN CALLING. 1 27 


they themselves arrive at the knowledge of the truth. 
“ For nothing is secret,” He says, “ that shall not be made 
manifest ; neither anything hid that shall be known and 
come abroad.”* Jesus, in other words, would guard His 
disciples against the notion that He had any other object 
in communicating the secrets of the kingdom to them 
than the view that in time they should be spread abroad. 
He did not come, like the founders of the philosophic 
schools, to gather about him a body of elect disciples ; but 
to train men to take His place when He was gone, in the 
founding of a kingdom, which is to be commensurate with 
the world. He will have all men come to the knowledge 
of the truth ; and He will have the Apostles continually 
bear in mind that they have been specially called and in- 
structed in the mysteries of the kingdom, not for their 
own sake, but for the sake of others. It will be seen how 
S. Matthew’s arrangement corresponds logically with the 
statements of the other evangelists. After suggesting the 
necessity for human agency in the working of the leaven 
into the mass of the dough until the whole is leavened, 
he then goes on to speak of the inestimable value of the 
work committed to the Apostles and to those associated 
with them, and of the nature of the sacrifices demanded 
of them. 

2. Another thing to be kept in mind, in this same con- 
nection, is that it is the conversion of the world , not the 
conversion of the individual (as in the first parable), which 
is now the subject of discourse. This, as suggested in the 
* S. Mark iv. 22. 


128 


RENUNCIATION OF THE WORLD A 


fourth parable, is to be a work committed to others .* The 
idea now set forth is, that after being himself converted 
the Christian is called to labor for the conversion of 
others, and is bound to make the extension of the king- 
dom the one supreme object of all his endeavors. The 
similitudes of the treasure in the field, and the merchant- 
man in search of goodly pearls, are thus in reality intro- 
ductory to the final parable of the draw-net, in which the 
vocation of the Apostles, as called to be fishers of men, 
is manifestly set forth. Circumstances alter cases. While 
it is possible (now that the world has been converted) for 
the Christian to live in the world and fulfil the duties 
of his earthly calling as a vocation given to him of God ; 
this, it is to be borne in mind, was not possible while the 
world was still pagan, and society had not yet been trans- 
formed by the operation of the Holy Spirit. There was 
nothing for the Christian at the first to do but wholly to 
give up the world, and join himself to the company of 
those who acknowledged as king Him who came to found 
a new kingdom in the world. “ It is never to be forgot- 
ten,” as Godet reminds us, “ that the kingdom of God at 
this period was identified with the person of Jesus, and 
the society of disciples who companied with him. To 
follow Jesus (literally) in His itinerant ministry was the 
only way of possessing this treasure, and of becoming fit 
to spread it in consequence. Then, as we have seen, it 
was an army, not merely of believers, but of evangelists , 
that Jesus was now laboring to form. If they had re- 


* Stier. 


CONDITION OF THE CHRISTIAN CALLING. 1 29 


mained attached to the soil of their earthly property, they 
would have been incapable of following and serving Him 
without looking backward.” It is for this reason that 
the apostolic ministry was not that of bishops, priests, 
and deacons, as it afterward, in the organized stage of 
the Church, became, but Apostles, prophets, teachers, and 
persons endowed with charismatical gifts. The whole 
Church was a missionary organization under the leader- 
ship of the Apostles, whose first and primary object was 
the evangelization of the world. To this all other claims 
were made secondary ; for this all other callings were to 
be given up ; in subordination to this all human relation- 
ships were to be held in subjection. 

3. A third feature worthy of note is the peculiar form 
of these two parables addressed to the disciples. Origen 
observes that they are in reality similitudes, and not, 
properly speaking, parables. But why may not a simili- 
tude be also a parable ? The providential events of the 
heavenly world, as in the case of the call of the Apostles, 
are surely capable of interpretation and explanation as well 
as the facts of the earthly sphere. The facts are the ex- 
ponents of laws which are not patent to the eye of the 
observer, and the significance of which is only known to 
Him who knows the mind of His Father in all His works, 
whether of nature or of grace. The form of similitude, 
which the parable here assumes, is, undoubtedly, due to 
the fact which Olshausen notes, that they were addressed 
to the Apostles; and describe a condition of things with 
which they were more or less familiar. But the thing with 


130 


RENUNCIATION OF THE WORLD A 


which the disciples were not familiar was, that the entire 
renunciation of the world is to be, for all time, a law of 
life for all those who are called to give themselves up to 
the work of converting the world. They did not yet 
know nor understand that the kingdom of God has a 
subjective and spiritual , as well as an objective and sac- 
ramental side, by virtue of which, through the secret 
working of the Holy Spirit in the lives and hearts of in- 
dividuals, it affords opportunity for noble endeavor and 
heroic self-sacrifice ; and according to the measure of their 
labors in its behalf will repay those who enlist themselves 
in its service for their self-denial. Bound in their fleshly 
notions of descent from Abraham, and cherishing as they 
did worldly dreams about the outward glory of the Mes- 
sianic kingdom, the Apostles had still to learn the true 
secret of missionary enterprise ; they had to be made fa- 
miliar with the thought that in the life of self-sacrifice 
to which they were called there are treasures greater far 
than any which a mere worldly calling could yield them. 
Nor is this true of the Apostles only. It remains true, for 
all time, that the Church and kingdom, besides being a 
channel for the transmission of grace and the obtaining of 
supernatural blessings, is also a sphere which affords to 
men opportunity for heroic self-sacrifice, and presents, as 
the supreme object of all Christian ambition, the exten- 
sion of the kingdom of God in the world. 

These things premised, we are now prepared to enter 
upon an examination of the parable in detail. The change 
in the character of the symbolism is the first thing worthy 


CONDITION OF THE CHRISTIAN CALLING. 1 3 1 


of special note. Heretofore the kingdom has been sym- 
bolized by things comparatively insignificant in their 
nature, and slow in their operation and their growth. 
Now the kingdom is compared to treasure and to precious 
stones, and becomes at the same time an object of desire 
and earnest search. And wherefore ? The change is to 
be accounted for by the different relation in which the 
kingdom now stands to the persons addressed. The 
Apostles have substituted one calling for another ; they 
have exchanged their nets for treasure in heaven. The 
vocation of the ministry is to be to them now what the 
pursuit of wealth is to the man of the world. It is to 
satisfy that thirst for possession, that hunger of the soul 
which incites men to enterprise, and leads them to make 
sacrifices for the acquisition of property, and which, not- 
withstanding the abuse to which it has been subjected, 
makes all the difference between a civilized man and a 
savage, and is the noblest passion of the human breast. 
As men labor for the world, so the Christian is to labor 
for the interests of the kingdom of heaven ; and in so 
doing he will find what the wordling, with all his pursuit 
of the creature, apart from God, can never find enough to 
satisfy all the cravings of his soul — treasures of infinite 
worth. But while the kingdom is thus represented as 
treasure, and as satisfying the craving of the soul after 
possession, the disciples are reminded that the blessings in 
store for them are not, as the Jewish expectation of the 
kingdom might lead them to imagine, blessings obvious to 
sense and to the carnal eye, but hidden in their nature, 


32 


RENUNCIATION OF THE WORLD A 


and belonging to the sphere of the inward life, and the 
economy of the Holy Spirit. As the kingdom of God 
cometh not with observation, so the treasures of the king- 
dom are by their very nature “ hid ” treasures. The treas- 
ure, moreover, is hidden in the field, just as the leaven 
was to be hidden in the meal. It is not to be had by 
climbing to the skies, nor is it to be sought for in the secret 
chambers ; but it is to be found in the sphere of man’s 
moral probation and every-day life. Goebel, indeed, de- 
nies that there is any significance in the “field” . here, but 
the fact that it is the “field” and not the treasure, which 
in the concluding portion of the parable is especially men- 
tioned, is in direct opposition to such a notion. Nor is it 
difficult to see why this should be. While the Apostles 
are to recognize the spiritual character of the kingdom, 
they are not to fall into the error of the mystic or the 
Indian devotee by separating themselves from the world 
and its affairs, that they may resign themselves to medita- 
tion on God and a future life. So far from this, they are 
to remember that they have been called and set apart for 
labor, and the field of their labor, moreover, is commen- 
surate with the world. The conversion of the world, and 
the setting up of the kingdom of God in it, is the work to 
which they have been specially called : here, and not else- 
where, are they to find the heavenly treasure. It is, as 
Greswell suggests, implied by the wording of the original, 
that the laborer is at work in the field, in some ordinary 
field employment, when he makes the discovery which 
fills his heart with joy. This, as has been already ob- 


CONDITION OF THE CHE/ST/AN CALLING . 1 33 


served, corresponds exactly with the position of the Apos- 
tles as called to labor, and as having their field of duty 
assigned to them. Viewed, then, not as an organism af- 
fording shelter to the nations of the earth, nor yet as a 
transforming influence, making all things new by the 
secret operation of the Holy Spirit, but as a sphere for 
Christian enterprise and effort, the kingdom of heaven 
may fitly be compared to treasure hid in “ the field,” since 
it offers, in the way of return for any labor expended upon 
it, treasures of infinite value, rewards of an enduring and 
eternal kind. The same thing, it may be remarked, is true 
of the Christian calling, whatever be the nature of our 
vocation, or the kind of work given us to do : — 

“ If on our daily course our mind 
Be set to hallow all we find, 

New treasures still, of countless price, 

God will provide for sacrifice.” * 

But the primary application of the parable, it is to be 
remembered, is to those who, like the Apostles and the 
first disciples, were called upon to give up all that they 
might follow Christ, and labor for the extension of the 
kingdom of heaven in the world. We have here laid 
down the fundamental law of ministerial vocation — a law 
embodying a principle, indeed, which is not absolutely 
confined to those admitted to the sacred ministry, but ap- 
plies to all who, whether in orders or not, desire to con- 
secrate themselves to the extension of Christ’s kingdom. 
The principle is that any sacrifice made for the sake of 


* Keble, Christian Year. 


134 


RENUNCIATION OF THE WORLD A 


the kingdom of heaven will meet with its reward ; but 
the law is that those who will undertake the work of the 
ministry must expect to fulfil the precept laid down in the 
parable, not in spirit only, but in the letter. The best com- 
mentary, after all, on the parable, is our Lord’s own words 
to His disciples, when they asked Him what they should 
have who had forsaken all to follow Him, and He an- 
swered them that they shall receive “manifold more in the 
present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.” * 
There are treasures, and there are treasures. The rewards 
which the kingdom of heaven offers are not like the treas- 
ures which the kingdom of the world offers to men — high 
place, wealth, pleasure ; but they are not on that account 
less real treasures. The history of religious orders proves 
that they who make sacrifices for the sake of the king- 
dom get in return, even in this life, lands and houses and 
children, as rewards for their self-denial ; not that such 
things are in themselves to be desired (for they often 
prove hurtful and lead to ruin), but they do come as the 
result of the confidence inspired by self-denying labor, 
and are a portion of the reward which Christ promised to 
His followers, just as much as the life everlasting. 

It follows from the very nature of the treasure promised 
that it is not to be taken by force, nor to be gotten by our 
own seeking, nor to be compassed by design. Since it 
is hid treasure, it must be “ found.” Not that we are to 
imagine anything in the nature of accident or chance in 
the case. It is the other side of the mystery with which 

* S. Luke xviii. 30. 


CONDITION OF THE CHRISTIAN CALLING. 1 35 


we have already had to do, in the hiding of the leaven in 
the meal. We have passed insensibly and by a gradual 
process of transition from the first preaching of the Gospel 
and the planting of the kingdom by our Lord Himself to 
the leaving of the Church to the care of the Apostles, and 
to the economy of the Holy Spirit. Now, one of the most 
marked features of the economy of the Spirit, as contra- 
distinguished from the economy of the Father and the 
economy of the Son, is the secrecy of His operation. 
“ The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the 
sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and 
whither it goeth : so is every one that is born of the 
Spirit.”* “The kingdom of God is amongst us, is around 
us ; we see its outward tokens on every side, and yet its 
treasure, its real value, has to be discovered, and dis- 
covered by each soul for itself. No man can teach his 
fellow what the treasure of the Church is. The teacher 
is bound to teach — he is bound to preach the kingdom of 
God ; he is bound to preach Christ as the head of His 
body the Church ; as the great object of the witness of 
that Church ; as the real administrator of its sacraments, 
and the thing which the sacraments convey. And yet 
the real treasure and its pricelessness — so that everything 
must be given up in order that it may be possessed — this 
cannot be taught by man. It must be discovered to the 
soul by God.” f Bengel calls attention to the frequent 
recurrence of the word “ found ” in connection with the 
call of the first disciples. Andrew “ findeth ” Simon, and 

* S. John iii. 8. f Sadler. 


136 RENUNCIATION OF THE WORLD A 

says to him, “We have found the Messiah, which is, being 
interpreted, The Christ.”* And again, Philip “findeth” 
Nathanael, and says to him, “ We have found him of 
whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write.” + It 
is only another way of saying that the feeling which drew 
these first disciples to Jesus was an unconscious draw- 
ing, rather than an intellectual demonstration based upon 
a critical examination of the nature of His claims. Had 
they not, each in his own way, been seeking , they never 
would have found. But their acceptance of Christ as the 
Messiah was not the result of a mere intellectual appre- 
hension; it was their moral instinct, quickened into life by 
the testimony of the Baptist, which led them to join the 
company of Jesus. And so it ever is in the economy of 
the Holy Spirit. It is part and parcel of the mystery of 
the kingdom of heaven, on its spiritual side — regarded not 
merely as an organic constitution of divinely constituted 
powers for the education and training of men, but an in- 
ward life, of which the Holy Ghost, dwelling in the heart 
of each individual soul, is the animating principle and 
vital breath — that it is round about men, and they see it 
not ; it is among them in its power, and they have not the 
eyes to discern it. Nay, its own disciples may touch and 
handle its ordinances, and partake of its sacraments, and 
yet never experience its true power. The voice which 
draws us thither is the still small voice of the Spirit, only 
heard when we are walking in the way of obedience, and 
meek and lowly self-surrender. When the vision comes, 
* S. John i. 41. f S. John i. 45. 


CONDITION OF THE CHE/ST/AN CALLING. 1 37 


it comes unexpectedly; when the door opens, it opens 
noiselessly ; we are walking in other paths, minding other 
things, ministering to the wants, it may be, of some out- 
cast, or lone sufferer, or sick child, when the sense of 
vocation comes, and the voice is heard calling to us, and, 
like Samuel, we cry out, “ Speak, Lord, for thy servant 
heareth.” “ The distinction between the objective posses- 
sion — or the blessings being really ours to use and enjoy — 
and the subjective possession — or the blessings being really 
used and enjoyed by us — is one of those fundamental 
principles of the kingdom of heaven,” Bishop Cotterell 
observes, “ which is often overlooked, and the neglect of 
the teaching of Christ on this subject leads to endless 
misunderstanding and errors.” It is a mistake against 
which both Jew and Christian need to be put continually 
on their guard. The prophet of Israel in his day warns 
God’s ancient people against saying in their hearts, “ The 
temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of 
the Lord are these.” Trust in things external, without 
corresponding sanctity and holiness of life, is only an 
abuse of God’s gifts of grace. The same is true of the 
Christian Church. We cannot, indeed, thank God enough 
for all His gifts of grace in the call to baptism, and the 
seal of confirmation, and the approach to His holy table, 
and the absolution bestowed through the priesthood, and 
the privileges which belong to the “ communion of saints : ” 
but men may live and move among these things, and put 
their trust in them, not to the salvation, but to the ruin, 
of their souls’ health. It is not the grace outwardly, nor 


138 RENUNCIATION OF THE WORLD A 

the privilege of being enrolled among the saints, that is 
going to save us. We must appropriate the grace: we 
must live up to the privilege : we must make the outward 
call, with all its heritage of blessing, our own, by the lov- 
ing surrender of our souls up to all that the Holy Ghost, 
through the outward means, would work in us, without 
which the grace of God has been bestowed upon us in 
vain. This, then, is the truth which Jesus would now 
impress upon His disciples. He had called them of His 
grace; He had put them in possession of the field in 
which, if they are only faithful, they will find treasures of 
countless price. But they are not to trust merely in their 
call. They are not to pride themselves upon the fact that 
they have received a noble commission, and have been 
thought worthy to have committed to them a glorious 
trust. There is something required of themselves — some- 
thing which He cannot do for them, and which another 
must help them to see and understand. They must have 
the eyes of their understanding opened to see the priceless 
nature of the blessings secured to them, and the privileges 
conferred upon them. This they must find out for them- 
selves, and upon their finding it out depends the measure 
of their future consecration to the work which is to be 
committed to their charge. 

One of the greatest puzzles in connection with the 
parable is the hiding of the treasure after it has been 
found. It cannot be accidental, for it is said with marked 
emphasis, “ the which when a man hath found, he hidetk 
It seems not only contrary to what we should naturally 


CONDITION OF THE CHRISTIAN CALLING. 1 39 


have expected, but it would appear to be in direct oppo- 
sition to the injunction which Jesus elsewhere lays upon 
His disciples, that they are to let their “ light shine before 
men.” The difficulty disappears when we call to mind that 
it is the economy of the Spirit we are here dealing with, 
and the relation which the individual bears subjectively to 
that economy in the personal appropriation of the things 
which have become his by being made a member of the 
kingdom. The thing which Jesus here hints at is that 
against which He has already warned His disciples, when 
He told them that they must not be as the Pharisees, who 
did their works to be seen of men. The renunciation which 
Jesus requires of His disciples must be a personal act, the 
virtue of which consists in being known only to God. 
The personal religious life, as contradistinguished from 
the corporate life of the believer, is a life hid with Christ 
in God. It shrinks from exposure to the gaze of the 
world to the extent that it is personal and deep and real.* 
The mystery with which we are dealing is not confined to 
the finding of the heavenly treasure, but has its analogy 
in other experiences of the soul’s life. The first halcyon 
days of married life are spent in concealment. And why ? 
Because the joy is one in which the world, as such, has no 
share. The bridegroom retires with the bride, that in se- 
clusion they may cement the bond which is to last forever, t 
We have here the secret of the withdrawal of the Church 
into the wilderness. It was, as the prophet tells us, a time 
of espousal before entering upon the full possession of the 
* S. Jerome. f Hos. ii. 14. 


140 


RENUNCIATION OF THE WORLD A 


purchased inheritance. It is for the same reason that S. 
Paul prepared himself for the work of the ministry by re- 
tiring for three years into Arabia. In later times, again, 
we find S. Basil, and his friend Gregory, preparing them- 
selves for their future work, by withdrawing from the 
world, and hiding themselves for a time in the desert. 
The same rule holds good now. It is necessary that the 
candidate for the sacred ministry be inwardly moved by 
the Holy Ghost to undertake the work. He must first 
find the treasure. But having found it, he is not justified 
in rushing out at once to proclaim the discovery to the 
world. Before entering upon the practical duties of his 
calling he must prepare himself by retiring for a time from 
the world. The treasure, once found, must be kept con- 
cealed ; and it must be held in reserve, for the reason that 
it is not to be had for the finding merely, but is to be se- 
cured by the act of self-surrender, which requires all the 
soul’s collected powers to prepare for, and consummate. 

And now we are prepared for the great act of renuncia- 
tion, to which all that has gone before has been of the 
nature of an introduction ; and as we do so, it is worthy 
of note that there is a change in the narrative from the 
past to the present — “ a plain indication that the special 
emphasis of the narrative lies in this final sentence: “ And 
for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath , and buyeth 
that field” The rich young man, when told to give all his 
goods to the poor and to follow Jesus, went away very sor- 
rowful, for he was very rich. But the man who finds the 
treasure, “ for very joy ” goes and sells all that he has that he 


CONDITION OF THE CHRISTIAN CALLING. 141 


may buy the field where the treasure lies concealed. The 
thought intended to be conveyed is, that “ the kingdom 
of heaven or of God stands over against the individual 
man, not so much as an order of things fixed by the divine 
will, to which the individual has to submit, and of which 
he must become a member, but as an order of things re- 
plete with divine blessings, and therefore a state of blessed- 
ness, a precious good, which offers itself to his possession, 
and summons him to make it his own.* As the seed 
needs soil (moral receptivity) before it can strike root and 
grow, so to secure the treasure, there is needed self-sacri- 
fice (personal self-surrender) before the proffered good can 
really become ours. And this self-surrender must not, as 
in the case of Judas and Simon Magus, be based upon 
considerations of self-interest, but must be done spon- 
taneously, gladly, as it is said of those who “ gladly re- 
ceived the word, . . . and sold their possessions and 

goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had 
need.” f 

It will be seen, then, that there has been a gradual and 
steady advance, from the very beginning, in the develop- 
ment of the mystery of the kingdom, both in its relation 
to the world, and in relation to its disciples. There must, 
first of all, be soil as well as seed — the germinant power of 
the word is limited by the condition of the moral nature 
with which it comes in contact. But this receptivity does 
not remain mere receptivity. The seed of the sower be- 
comes the sons of the kingdom in the parable of the tares : 

f Acts ii. 41-46. 


* Goebel. 


142 


RE NUN CIA TI ON OF THE WORLD A 


opposition calls forth activity and confirms faith : error is 
permitted, to establish believers in the truth. The king- 
dom grows indeed, organically and objectively, from the 
living germ contained in the Divine-human person of its 
head, after the vital principle had been set free in death, 
just as “ organic life in nature commences from the mo- 
ment the grain comes in contact with the humid soil : ” 
but it is made dependent for its operation, subjectively 
and spiritually, upon the agency of men, as is shown in 
the working up of the leaven by the hand of the woman 
into the mass of the meal. Now, it is further declared 
that, on the part of the disciples, there is needed a spirit 
of self-sacrifice, even to the surrender of everything which 
can hinder the success of the work which has been placed 
in their hands. As in the economy of the Son the seed 
needs soil, so in the economy of the Spirit there is some- 
thing of the nature of a mysterious commerce between 
earth and sky, by virtue of which God imparts the treas- 
ures of His heavenly grace exactly according to the meas- 
ure of the readiness of His people to sacrifice at all times 
their own interests to the interests of His Church and king- 
dom. It will be seen, then, what is meant by the buying 
which enters into the imagery of both the treasure and the 
merchantman. We are dealing with that mystery of man’s 
moral nature which forms, as we have seen, such an essen- 
tial element of these fundamental parables. God does not 
operate in grace as He does in nature, or as He did under 
the law. He bestows His grace, but it does not operate 
according to the law of cause and effect. His grace is 


CONDITION OF THE CHRISTIAN CALLING. 143 


operative, not as power, but through the attraction of love, 
by virtue of which the will surrenders itself and cements 
the love which draws it by mutual returns of love and 
self-surrender. Hence it is that we are told to “ buy wine 
and milk, without money and without price ; ” * hence it 
is, again, that we are bidden “ buy ” the robe, which is the 
gift of God to us in His own dear Son.f And hence, 
again, the foolish virgins are commanded to “ buy ” oil 
for themselves after their lamps had gone out. :f 

There is still another question to be answered before we 
get through with the difficulties which beset the inter- 
pretation of this seemingly trite similitude. Why is the 
finder said to buy the field, and not the treasure ? For the 
same reason it is said that whosoever will give up any- 
thing for the sake of the kingdom shall receive manifold 
more in the present world, and in the world to come life 
everlasting. Life everlasting we cannot buy — it is first 
and last a gift of grace : still we cannot get possession of 
it merely as a gift. We must in some way or other make it 
our own. Grace, in other words, acts not as a mere power 
according to the law of cause and effect, but in accordance 
with the nature of free agents, and the law of self-sur- 
render. 

* Isa. lv. I. f Rev. iii. 18. % S. Matt. xxv. 9. 


144 CONDITION OF THE CHRISTIAN CALLING. 


NOTES. 

Ver. 44. — The best MSS., with Codex Sinait. and Lat. Vulg., omit voXiv 
before o/xoia. It was in all probability borrowed from verses 45 and 47, 
overlooking the fact that in the treasure hid in the field we have the begin- 
ning of a new series of parables. 

The article with ciypip “rests on the assumption that to the hearers, with the 
notion of a treasure, not merely preserved, but hidden, the notion of a garden 
or field where it is buried is naturally associated, burying being the usual 
way of concealing a treasure of gold or silver.” — Goebel. 

I have followed Erasmus, Luther, and Beza in making avrov, after ^apas, 
the genitive of the object. 


fJSXetxfxaxxlnxatx atxtl tlxe gear! of 
OSrnxt gricc. 



VI. 


£luc ^Xjevclxantmau anil tlxje gjeavl of (Etacat ghjicc. 


ALL TO BE RENOUNCED FOR THE KINGDOM OF 
HEAVEN AND THE TRUTH AS IT IS IN JESUS. 

Again : the kingdom of heaven is like unto pearl of great price, went and sold all that he 
a merchantman seeking goodly pearls ; who, had, and bought it. — S. Matt. xiii. 45, 46. 
when he had found (but having found) one 

The name by which this parable passes current among 
us is singularly unfortunate. The comparison is not to 
a pearl, but to a pearl-merchant, or dealer in pearls. We 
have not, in other words, as commonly received, a mere 
repetition of the preceding parable : while there is a 
marked similarity, there are also notable points of differ- 
ence. The change is precisely similar to that which we 
have already noticed in passing from the Sower in many 
Soils to the Tares among the Wheat. As there “ the seed ” 
in the process of growth was changed into “ children of 
the kingdom,” so here the “ treasure” is converted into a 
“pearl-merchant.” Here, as there, the mystery of the 
kingdom in the second and complementary parable is 
represented in a more advanced stage. It is taken for 
granted that the first great act of self-surrender has been 
made ; and now the persons making it have placed before 


148 ALL TO BE RENOUNCED FOR THE KINGDOM OF 


them, in the pursuit of their vocation, another and a still 
greater act of self-consecration, which they are to be called 
upon to make when they shall have entered upon the 
active duties of their ministry. 

“ Again : the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant- 
man seeking goodly pearls .” The connection between this 
and the preceding parable is put beyond question by the 
“again,” with which the parable opens. We are now to 
see the same thing under another form. The kingdom, at 
the stage it is now represented, appears under the form 
of an e/Airopos, or wholesale dealer, whose function it is 
to purchase goods, leaving the sale of them to the retail 
dealer. What could more fitly describe the apostolic vo- 
cation ? The Apostles were specially called to be mission- 
aries of the faith. They were in the relation of persons 
sent forth to travel abroad, and go forth into all the world 
in the character of wholesale dealers in costly wares. It 
is a homely illustration, but admirably chosen. And it is 
redeemed from the mere trade idea by the addition, that 
the person thus employed is to be regarded, not in the 
light of a trader, but of a seeker of precious stones; it is, 
so to speak, a connoisseur in the search after pearls of rare 
value, rather than a mere buyer and seller, with whom 
we have to do. “ The merchant is, therefore, a man 
skilled in the value of pearls, making it his special busi- 
ness to seek pearls of pre-eminent excellence. As the 
epithet kcl\ov 9 shows, it is pearls of the highest worth as 
compared with pearls of inferior value of which the mer- 
chant is in search. The sphere of the parable, it will be 


HE A VEN A HD THE TRUTH AS IT IS IN JESUS. 149 


observed, moves in the region of inquiry.” * There are 
treasures, and there is a treasure. Nay, there is one treas- 
ure in comparison with which all other treasures are noth- 
ing worth. After making their great act of renunciation, 
then, the Apostles, it would appear, are to have forced 
upon them the knowledge that there is a treasure, to gain 
which they will have to make a still further act of self- 
renunciation, like unto that which at the first they were 
already compelled to make. To appreciate to the full 
the significance of the image employed, as we have dis- 
criminated between the merchant and the trader, so also 
we must be careful not to confound the pearl-tester and 
the pearl-fisher. It was the work of the one to plunge 
into the deep to secure the valuables which were after- 
ward sold as articles of trade : it was the work of the 
other to test the purity of the jewels when exposed for 
sale, and to discriminate between those of greater and 
those of lesser value. Now, here again we have another 
intimation given of the special vocation of the Apostles. 
They are to be called upon, at the very outset of their 
mission, to discriminate between the opposing claims of 
differing systems. The question, too, will not come before 
them as an abstract question, but is to be forced upon 
them while engaged in the active duties of their ministry, 
and will assume, accordingly, the shape of a test involving 
an act of moral choice on their part, between things dear 
to them as very life, in consequence of political as well 
as religious associations, and the one and only name given 

* Goebel. 


150 ALL TO BE RENOUNCED FOR THE KINGDOM OF 

among men whereby they can be saved. S. Paul, in his 
life and work, furnishes a notable illustration of the mean- 
ing and application of the parable. He was one of whom 
it might be said, even in the days of his darkness, that 
he was a seeker after truth. When converted, he exem- 
plified in his life that power of discrimination for which 
the pearl-merchant was specially noted. It is to S. Paul, 
above all the Apostles, that we owe the examination of 
the fundamental difference between Judaism and Chris- 
tianity. Nor did he effect this by giving himself up to 
philosophical retirement, or by attempting to found a 
new school of thought. His career, from its beginning 
to its close, was one of intense activity. He made, more 
than all the other Apostles, ventures into foreign lands. 
He could say, as none other of the Apostles could say, 
in the completeness of his self-surrender, that he counted 
all things but loss that he might win Christ. But it is 
among the Gentile converts, even more than among the 
Jewish, that we are to look for the most remarkable illus- 
trations of the parable. The story of Justin Martyr is 
one among a thousand. If I quote it at some length, it 
is only because it is one of the most notable instances of 
a seeker after truth, who made it the business of his life 
to compare system with system, and, at the last, found 
the one pearl of great price. Justin, in speaking of the 
pursuit of truth, says that “philosophy is, in fact, the 
greatest possession, and most honorable before God.” 
He assures us that “ there are holy men who have be- 
stowed attention on philosophy;” and that “being de- 


HE A VEN AND THE TRUTH AS IT IS IN JESUS . I 5 I 


sirous of personally conversing with these men,” he “sur- 
rendered himself to a certain Stoic.” After “ spending a 
considerable time with him,” and “ finding that he had 
not acquired any further knowledge of God ” (“ for he 
did not know himself,” and “said such knowledge was 
unnecessary”), Justin went to a Peripatetic, and after that 
to a Pythagorean, who rejected him because he knew noth- 
ing of “ music, astronomy, and geometry.” Hearing of 
the fame of the Platonists, Justin sought them out. For 
a while, as they discoursed of the perception of “ imma- 
terial things and the contemplation of ideas,” Justin 
thought he was “ forthwith to look upon God;” but 
found “ neither rest nor satisfaction ” in barren, abstract 
contemplation. Weary, and disposed “to shun the path 
of men,” Justin at last, as he was walking along one day 
in a field by the sea-side, fell in with an old man of 
“ venerable and meek manners,” who spoke to him many 
things about Christ, the prophets, and then went his 
way. “ Straightway,” he says, “ a flame was kindled in 
my soul, and a love of the prophets and of those men 
who are friends of Christ possessed me; and whilst re- 
volving his words in my mind, I found this philosophy 
alone to be safe and profitable .” Then, in the true spirit 
of one who had found Christ, he adds, “ If, then, you have 
any concern for yourself, and you are eagerly looking for 
salvation, and if you believe in God, you may, since you 
are not indifferent to the matter, become acquainted with 
the Christ of God, and after being initiated lead a happy 
life.” The long-protracted conflict between Judaism and 


152 ALL TO BE RENOUNCED FOR TILE KINGDOM OF 

Gnosticism, on the one side, and the Christian faith, on 
the other, bears witness to the prophetic insight disclosed 
in the parable. If among the Apostles themselves there 
were differences of opinion regarding the relations of 
Judaism and Christianity, what wonder that Ebionism 
should for nearly three hundred years harass the Church. 
After that the philosophical teachers of the day began 
to be attracted toward the Church, the conflict with 
Gnosticism began ; it took a long time to discriminate 
between the various Gnostic systems and the one true 
faith. There were among the Jews many, like Nicodemus, 
who recognized in Jesus a teacher come from God, but 
could not admit the absolute nature of His claims. They 
wished to mingle the old with the new ; pride of relig- 
ion and political prejudice kept them back from making 
an act of absolute self-surrender. But Jesus rejected all 
such. He required, as in the case of S. Paul, an entire 
separation from friends and country and religion. The 
new wine must be put in new bottles ; it will not do to 
put a patch of new cloth on an old garment. 

It would appear, then, that the work of the ministry 
requires of those who enter into the field something more 
than the renunciation of mere wealth and worldly estate. 
It involves more than the abandoning of other callings for 
the sake of winning souls to Christ. It requires — what to 
many an earnest seeker after truth is of more account than 
money or vulgar fame — the renunciation of prejudices, and 
systems of opinions, and schools of thought, which, how- 
ever good in themselves, or useful as a propaedeutic for 


HE A VEN AND THE TRUTH AS IT IS IN JESUS. I 53 


Christianity, are, nevertheless, not the truth as it is in Jesus, 
and are separated by an infinite distance from it. The re- 
ligion of Christ, it is ever to be remembered, is an absolute 
religion : it can make no compromises ; it can acknowl- 
edge no inferior claims. It is true to-day, as it was 
eighteen hundred years ago, that Jesus claims absolute 
surrender of mind and heart. He is the truth : the faith 
cannot enter into alliance with philosophy and schools of 
thought, for the reason that it involves in its reception a 
moral act. It is not a speculation, nor an opinion, nor 
the production of a school of thought, but an authoritative 
demand to receive the truth on the part of One who is 
Himself the truth; and who came into the world to reveal 
it to those who are morally convinced of His claims, and 
are ready, as little children, to surrender themselves up to 
His guidance.* 

Goebel again calls attention to the structure of the 
parable, and points out some differences between it and 
the preceding parable worthy of note. The seeker after 
pearls, he observes, has found not only a pearl of special 
costliness (7 toXvtl/jlos), but unique of its kind (eva) — “ alone 
and incomparable in its costliness.” “ After finding the 
pearl, and perceiving its unique value, the finder acts ac- 
cordingly ; he departs immediately, and sells his all to buy 
it, arreXObiv nreirpaicev, k. t. X. The introductory direXOlov, 
corresponding to the introductory clause, curb t?}? %apa? 
av tov virdyei, in the former parable, signalizes the follow- 
ing act as specially worthy of notice. And at the same 

* The Parables of Jesus , p. 1 1 3. 


154 ALL TO BE RENOUNCED FOR THE KINGDOM OF 


time, in the present connection, it denotes the instanta- 
neous breaking off and giving up of his previous work of 
searching. Now that he has found the one pearl of great 
price, his search after goodly pearls is at an end ; he has but 
one thing to aim at, actually to possess the one of great 
price. And this possession he strives after with the same 
all-renouncing, all-self-sacrificing determination with which 
the man in the previous parable puts himself in possession 
of his treasure : ireirpaKev iravra oaa etgev teal rjyopaaev 
avrov. Here the narrative does not, as in the previous 
parable in the corresponding place, pass into the present 
of vivid realization. But here, also, the perfect Treirpa/cev 
before the aorist rjyopacrev lays a specially vivid emphasis 
on the decisive act, the selling of all his property ; he has 
sold all that he had , and bought the same. It only cor- 
responds to the incomparable value of the pearl that it 
cannot be purchased at a lower price than the sale of 
every other possession. And thus the merchant, perceiv- 
ing its unique value, without delay pays this price in order 
to become possessor of the one pearl.” 

It will be observed that our Lord, in the parable, while 
claiming that Christianity is the absolute good, does not 
deny that other things have a relative value. So far from 
this, the parable admits there is an earthly good. Were it 
not so, there would be nothing to renounce, nothing to 
surrender. Martensen, in a profound chapter of his “Eth- 
ics,”* in which he deals with the Greek fable of Pro- 
metheus, in its application to the spirit of modern culture, 
* p P- 5 2 > 53- 


HE A YEN AND THE TRUTH AS IT IS IN JESUS. 155 


takes occasion to remind us “ that cultivation, . . . 

art, and science are not evils,” as the school of Calvin has 
been accustomed to teach ; “ but, on the contrary, belong 
to a perfect condition of human existence; nay, it may 
even be said that knowledge and refinement are necessary 
conditions for the development of morality and religion, 
which can only be very imperfectly evolved under circum- 
stances of barbarism and ignorance, insomuch that Chris- 
tianity itself implants the germ of refinement when this 
was before absent. . . . Modern civilization and 

progress are, indeed, to each one capable of appreciating 
them, eminent evidences of the power and wealth which 
humanity possesses outside of Christianity and the sphere 
of religion. When it is now said that we ought to ex- 
change everything for the one pearl, that we should for- 
sake all and follow Christ, this is only one side of the 
matter. We should forsake worldly-mindedness, and that 
worldly contemplation of things which considers earth- 
ly blessings as the ultimate and highest. But the other 
side of the matter is described in the Redeemer’s words : 
‘ Every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sis- 
ters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, 
for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundred-fold, and 
shall inherit everlasting life ’ (Matt. xix. 29). If we give 
up these worldly realities for Christ’s sake, we shall receive 
them in a higher sense ; they shall be restored to us in a 
higher connection, not merely of contemplation, but of life; 
so that we know, feel, and experience all these blessings in 
their position toward that One who is their living centre, 


156 ALL TO BE RENOUNCED FOR THE KINGDOM OF 

and take our own position relative to the relative, and ab- 
solute to the absolute.” Dean Church, in like manner, in 
his admirable “ Sermons on Civilization and Religion,” 
contends for the relative value of civilization as part of 
the divine order, while at the same time he maintains that 
Christianity “ has brought a new spirit into the world, 
with a divine prerogative of influence, to which all other 
things, excellent and admirable, must yield the first place.” 
In the same spirit he reminds us, that while “ there are 
numbers who follow the work of this life in simplicity 
and purity of intention, yet there is, besides, a more 
direct and conscious service of the kingdom of heaven. 
There are those whose heart God has touched, who feel 
that they are not men merely blessed by all that the Gos- 
pel has done for them, but that they have a special busi- 
ness and duty as servants of that Gospel. They feel the 
necessity of something deeper than this world’s blessings — 
of greater aims than this world’s business. They feel that 
there are evils which it needs something greater than even 
civilization to cure, sufferings which ask for more than an 
average self-devotion to comfort.” And “ what, after all,” 
he adds, “ is this but the expression of the universal law, 
that for great effects and great works proportionate self- 
dedication is necessary. What conquers must have those 
who devote themselves to it ; who prefer it to all other 
things ; who are proud to suffer for it ; who can bear any- 
thing, so that it go forward. All is gladly given for the 
pearl of great price.” 

An attempt has been made on the part of Alexander 


HE A PEN AND THE TRUTH AS IT IS IN JESUS . I 57 


Knox, Archbishop Trench, and others, to make the find- 
ers of the treasure a special class ; and to discriminate 
between them and the seekers , after the pearl of great 
price, in the supplementary parable, as between a higher 
and a lower grade of Christian life. It is a fatal objection 
to such an interpretation that the pearl-dealer is said to 
find the pearl, just as the laborer in the field is said to 
find the treasure. “ In point of fact,” as Dr. Bruce has 
observed,' “ the actors in the two parables seem to differ, 
not so much in spirit as in circumstances;” it is “an ob- 
jective distinction between men as to their respective po- 
sitions, rather than a subjective distinction between them 
as to their respective dispositions,” which is the thing 
we have presented for consideration. We must seek the 
ground of the difference in the historical development of 
the kingdom itself, and not in a mere logical distinction 
between two classes of persons. It will be remembered, 
then, that Jesus did not immediately and at once break 
with the synagogue. He said Himself that He had not 
come to destroy, but to fulfil. His method was to implant 
the living germ and let it grow. Time would reveal (and 
nothing but time, under the teaching of the Spirit, could 
do it) the difference between the shadow and the sub- 
stance, between the figure and the reality. It was divinely 
ordered, then, that the temple, and its sacrifices, and its 
priesthood, should remain after Christ had finished His 
work on earth. They remained that the first disciples of 
the faith, after their eyes had begun to be opened, might 
compare spiritual things with spiritual, and so arrive at 


158 ALL TO BE RENOUNCED FOR THE KINGDOM OF 


the knowledge of the truth. To the last, we know S. 
James was in the habit of attending upon the temple 
and its services. The Bishop of Jerusalem “ practically 
confessed that in becoming a Christian he did not cease to 
be a Jew, but was in reality more so.” And so with the 
rest of the Apostles. All that Jesus required of the first 
disciples of the faith was to believe in Himself, and be 
willing and ready to give up all in order to follow Him. 
This He absolutely required, and would take no less. 
The rest He was willing to leave to time and to the teach- 
ing of experience. It was not until after the martyrdom 
of Stephen, that it came to be received as a fixed fact that 
the old and the new could not always remain together. It 
soon became manifest that the national limitation could 
never be reconciled with the universal extension of the 
kingdom. S. Paul was the first to grasp this truth in all 
its fulness and to formulate it. He made it clear, that 
there is more to be renounced than money-tables and fish- 
ing-nets, by those who will insist upon it that Gentiles 
have equal rights with Jews in the kingdom of heaven. 
Himself an Hebrew of the Hebrews, by reputation a Phar- 
isee, a blameless keeper of the ordinances of the Leviti- 
cal law, yet he is willing to sacrifice it all — nation, kindred, 
religious privileges — rather than yield to the Judaizing fac- 
tion who had frightened Peter out of his consistency, and 
had led him to close the door, which a little while ago he 
had himself opened. The parables of the treasure and the 
pearl-dealer, then, have to do with the same great subject 
— the renunciation required of those who will undertake 


HE A VEN AND THE TRUTH AS IT IS IN JESUS. I 59 


the work of the ministry. They do not represent different 
classes, but different stages of renunciation. There is re- 
quired, first of all, as a condition of entrance upon the 
work of the ministry, the renunciation of all ordinary secu- 
lar pursuits ; and there is required further, as experience 
goes on and develops, the renunciation of every other sys- 
tem of opinion and belief, however good and excellent 
they may be in themselves. There is one, and one only 
name whereby we can be saved, the name of Christ Jesus. 

It will be readily seen from this parable how much 
truth and how much falsehood there is in what is called 
the Science of Comparative Religion. It is most un- 
doubtedly true that there is among the heathen some 
knowledge of the true God, and that natural religion is 
not, as Calvinism teaches, only a tissue of falsehood, and 
that it is the duty of the Christian teacher to acknowl- 
edge this ; it is also true that civilization, as Dean Church 
so conclusively proves, has a moral value of its own apart 
from Christianity : but it is not true, as James Freeman 
Clarke teaches, in his “ Ten Religions of the World,” that 
Christ is to be ranked with Socrates, or Confucius, or 
Zoroaster, as one among many great religious teachers ; 
or that civilization, under any of its forms, can ever be a 
substitute for Christianity. Christ claims moral surrender, 
and obedience to Himself as a person , which no other 
religious teacher does ; and Christianity ranks above all 
forms of natural religion, inasmuch as it bestows through 
sacramental agencies the principle of a new life , of which 
Christ, as God-man, is the fountain and the source. 


i6o 


THE TRUTH AS IT IS IN JESUS. 


NOTES. 

Ver. 45. — The kingdom, it will be observed, is not at once likened to 
a pearl, as the parallel idea to the treasure, but to a pear l-mer chant , as de- 
noting a corresponding advance in the circumstances and events of the 
heavenly kingdom. The laborers in the field have now become missionaries ; 
there is no longer any reason why they should conceal the treasure, but make 
it known. An e/xiropos is a merchant, or wholesale dealer : the participial 
clause, ( rjTovi/Ti icaAovs /xapyapiras, is added by way of limitation, to make it 
plain that the mercantile activity referred to does not “relate to the dispos- 
ing of wares, but lies in the region of inquiry.” 

Ver. 46. — Instead pf is evphv k. t. A. (Rec.), Cod. Sinait. and the Vati- 
can give tvpuv $e. 


VII. 


vfte aticl tltc jfiiml Sorting. 




VII. 


$1xjc gicawx-ujet atxxl the giual Jtotiujg. 


THE FISHERMAN'S WORK IS TO CATCH THE FISH ; 6<?Z> 
HOLY ANGELS WILL DO THE SORTING. 

Again: the kingdom of heaven is like unto world ( consummatio seculi ) ; the angels shall 
a (draw) net, that was cast into the sea, and come forth, and sever the wicked from among 
gathered of every kind : which, when it was the just, and shall cast them into the furnace 
full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and of fire : there shall be wailing and gnashing of 
gathered the good into vessels, but cast the teeth. — S. Matt. xiii. 47-50. 
bad away. So shall it be at the end of the 

The parabolic cycle is drawing to a close. As it does 
so, the reference to the Apostles and their calling becomes 
unmistakable. They are to catch men. To them and 
their successors the work of the extension of the kingdom 
is to be entrusted to the end of time. The first three 
parables had to do with the work of sowing and planting, 
and with the growth of the seed. The Sower, in time, 
becomes a Householder, and we then have brought before 
us pictures of a social and domestic kind. From things 
within we pass to affairs without; and, accordingly, we 
meet with symbols taken from the sphere of labor and 
enterprise, and hear of ventures made for the sake of gain. 
Now we are carried forward to the time of the end ; and as 
we do so, the whole aspect of things is changed. We see 
fishermen out toiling on the deep, and dragging the net to 


1 64 THE FISHERMAN'S WORK TO CATCH THE FISH ; 


the farther shore. Insensibly we have been borne along 
from the beginning to the end ; from the planting to the 
ingathering, and the time of final separation. 

There is manifest significance, then, in the image of the 
sea, as contradistinguished from the land, just as there is 
marked significance between the images of the net and 
the seed. The Church has become organized, and as- 
sumed the form of a great net, articulated and joined 
together by invisible bands. It has passed from its earlier 
domestic stage, and has been cast by invisible hands into 
the sea of the nations. Amid turmoil and storm and 
tempest it is doing its appointed work, gathering men of 
every sort, and dragging the world from shore to shore. 
The imagery is ever true to itself. Net and sea — venture 
and danger — perils encountered — wind and storm obeying 
His word — the distant shore reached at last — the gather- 
ing of the good into vessels, and the casting of the bad 
away ! 

Now, first of all, Ave are to note the net. It is the sagene , 
or seine, or sean, or great draw- net. “ It is a net of the 
largest size, suffering nothing to escape from it ; and thus 
its all-embracing nature,” Archbishop Trench observes, 
“ is certainly not to be left out of sight as an accidental or 
unimportant circumstance, but contains, in fact, a proph- 
ecy of the wide reach and potent operation of the Gos- 
pel. The kingdom of the heaven should henceforth be a 
net, not cast into a single stream as hitherto, but into the 
broad sea of the world, and gathering or drawing together 
(John xi. 52) some out of every kindred and tongue and 


GOD AND HIS ANGELS WILL DO THE SORTING. 1 65 


people and nation.” But the vastness of the net and the 
casting of it into the sea of nations has for its consequence 
the “ gathering together of fish of every kind” This is 
the truth which Jesus, in making use of the image of the 
great draw-net, seeks to emphasize and impress upon the 
minds of the Apostles and their successors to the end of 
time. “ The expectation of the nation and people of the 
Jews was that the separation of all those who were un- 
worthy of the fellowship of the kingdom would be the 
first task undertaken by the coming Messiah, and that 
afterward He would proceed to erect the kingdom with 
those who were found true.” Now, it is just the opposite 
of all things that Jesus sets before the mind of the Apos- 
tles in the last of these fundamental parables ; and the 
reason, as Weiss * suggests, is plain. 

If the kingdom is not to be founded through an out- 
ward act of divine power of sure effect, but only through 
a spiritual ministry whose success depended upon the re- 
ceptivity of men, and therefore could only be obtained 
through gradual development, it is self-evident that it 
would not do to begin with a division between the worthy 
and unworthy, that much labor must be bestowed in pre- 
paring for the consummation of salvation, and that the 
Messianic judgment must necessarily be delayed until the 
development of the kingdom of God was completed. 

In connection with the change to the sea, we are also to 
note the corresponding change in the vocation of the 
Apostles themselves. The fisherman’s calling, like the 
* The Life of Christ , vol. ii. , p. 209. 


1 66 THE FISHERMAN'S WORK TO CATCH THE FISH ; 


calling of the shepherd, was one eminently fitted to set 
forth some of the more characteristic features of the 
Christian ministry. It is a calling which exposes him who 
engages in it to peril upon the deep. He who pursues it 
must be ready to encounter wind and storm in the exer- 
cise of his vocation. But as contradistinguished from the 
calling of the shepherd, the fisherman is known for his 
tact, and the skill with which he tries to get the fish into 
the net. He watches wind and sky, and when the oppor- 
tunity comes for him to execute his purpose with most 
effect, he trims his sail and sets out upon the deep. The 
picture is one which presents a side of ministerial charac- 
ter to which we shall see frequent reference made in the 
later parables. The minister of Christ must be “ wise to 
win souls.” He must be a fisher of men, and use guile to get 
them into his net. His moral attitude must not be that of 
picking and choosing, or of selecting choice streams to catch 
only the best fish. He is to remember that Christ died for 
all, and that it is the will of God that all men should be 
saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.* Sin is no 
barrier to entrance into the kingdom, for all are alike sinners 
in God’s sight. “ The kingdom of heaven is not something 
specially set apart for any outward Israel, nation, or coun- 
try, but the great sea of nations is its sphere, the restless, 
raging sea of fallen humanity. Into this sea it sinks as a 
net hid beneath the waters.” 

A question has been raised as to the meaning of the 
word f which is here rendered “ kind.” Stier and Lange 

* i Tim. ii. 4* \ ytvos. 


GOD AND HIS ANGELS WILL DO THE SORTING. 1 67 


would apply it to every “ kind ” of thing, such as “sea- 
animals, mud,” etc., which the draw-net in its sweep 
gathers together. But Goebel objects to this, and limits, 
with justice, the application to every “ kind ” of fishes. 
Of this there can be no doubt. Still, the question arises, 
whether we are to think simply of different genera of fish, 
in the scientific sense, or of different kinds, in the general 
sense, without regard to what their difference of kind con- 
sists in, whether in scientific species, or in size or excel- 
lence, or aught else. Goebel decides for the latter, on the 
ground that “ the indiscriminate gathering here spoken of 
is meant to form a contrast to the separation between 
the good and the bad related afterward.” But in this we 
cannot altogether agree. It is of nations, in the first in- 
stance, rather than of individuals, that Jesus speaks. He is 
fighting the Jewish prejudice that salvation is exclusively 
the privilege of the Jew, and is once again disposing of 
the notion that the Messianic kingdom is to be confined 
to the elect nation, and to the pure and good among the 
covenant people. In opposition to this the Apostles are 
to “ make disciples of all nations ; ” they are not to confine 
their ministrations to the Jews, but to admit the Gentile 
nations and the islands of the sea to all the privileges 
of the kingdom. But this meaning of the word “ kind ” 
(761/09) is not opposed to the later moral application to 
bad and good, but underlies it. For in the mind of the 
Jews, the Gentiles were accounted “ sinners ” and “ un- 
clean.” They were reckoned as “ dogs,” and were regarded 
as unfit to enter into the kingdom. Our Lord, deliber- 


1 68 THE FISHERMAN'S WORK TO CATCH THE FISH ; 


ately, we may believe, uses a word which is capable of a 
double application : first of all, to the generic distinction 
between men, according to race and lineage ; and secondly, 
to the moral distinction, as they are accounted “ bad ” or 
“ good.” 

It is to be noted in this same connection, that as the 
image of the “ sea ” is to be regarded as properly belonging 
to the parable, and not a mere figure of speech, so the no- 
tion of net and fish, in contradistinction to the seed and 
ground of the introductory parable, is not accidental, but 
is part and parcel of a recognized symbolism. The view 
of the kingdom here presented is not that of moral rela- 
tionship, as in the case of the seed and the soil, but of 
grace and spiritual kinship. The net is cast into the deep. 
The setting of it is the direct result of divine agency, and 
is not ascribed to human hands. The fish enclosed in the 
net, whether bad or good, represent those who are sepa- 
rated from the world, and are gathered together into the 
unity of the Church. In the case of the seed sown in the 
many kinds of soil, three parts of the soil never receive it, 
and the fourth part is subjected to influences from without 
of a hostile kind ; but in the case of the fish enclosed in 
the net, they all remain there until the final separation. 
It will be seen, then, that there is a fundamental difference 
between the parable of the Tares and the Draw-net. The 
one belongs to the time of planting and early growth ; the 
other to the time of the end and the final close. From 
the parable of the Tares the inference was to be drawn 
that heresies will exist alongside the truth, so long as the 


GOD AND HIS ANGELS WILL DO THE SORTING. 169 


world shall last. In the parable of the Draw-net it is 
distinctly declared that in the enclosure of the visible 
Church there will be an intermixture of bad and good. 
In the case of the Tares it is heresy and heretical teach- 
ers, in connection with the period of sowing, that are 
spoken of. In the draw-net the bad fish are men of evil 
and corrupt lives.* 

As in the parable of the Great Supper the servants 
who are sent forth to invite the guests are told to go forth 
anew and compel “ bad and good ” alike to come, in order 
that the “ house may be filled ,” so here the net is first to 
be filled before the work of sorting is allowed to begin. 
The first work of the Apostles is to fill the net. Their 
first duty is to labor to this end ; they are to leave the 
rest to God. It is another intimation that the spirit of 
the Gospel has no sympathy with Pharisaism or exclu- 
siveness. “ The duty of Christians,” one says, “ is plain, j* 
It is not to ask wistfully shall many or few be saved, but 
to strive with might and main to bring into the Church 
as many as possible of such as are at least in the way of 
being saved.” 

Arnot complains, and with justice, that the ordinary 
method of dealing with the parable touches only one-half 
of the comparison, and leaves comparatively unnoticed the 
other and more important half. The filling of the net is 
the turning-point between the setting and the drawing of 
the net. If the fishing were for sport, or for pleasure 
merely, it would make little difference whether the draught 

f Bruce : The Parabolic Teaching of Christy p. 66. 


* S. Luke. 


170 THE FISHERMAN'S WORK TO CATCH THE FISH ; 

were big or little ; but in the present case the fishing is 
not for sport, but for profit. 

And so, it is added, in an independent sentence, although 
joined on to the preceding by a relative clause, they drew 
up (the net) upon the beach and sat down ; and gathered 
the good into vessels , and cast the bad away. “ Here,” as 
Goebel observes, “ is the point of the entire description.” 
The fishermen can afford to throw the net freely, and take 
in indifferently every kind, both bad and good, since 
“ everything gathered at first indiscriminately into the 
kingdom of God will at last be subjected to a careful test- 
ing, by which the precious will be rigidly severed from the 
worthless, and the latter will be excluded.” But who is 
it that is to do this ? The parable itself would appear to 
say one thing ; the explanation of our Lord Himself an- 
other. In the parable it is those who draw the net to 
shore who are represented as sitting down, and, with de. 
liberation and care, sorting out the bad from the good, 
putting the one in vessels, and throwing the other away. 
Yet, in the explanation of this portion of the parable, our 
Lord says, “ The angels shall come forth , and separate the 
wicked from the just , and shall cast them into the furnace 
of fire : there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth? 
There is, after all, really no discrepancy. If the reference 
be, as it would appear to be, not to the last judgment, 
but to the judgment upon Jerusalem, and the separation 
to be made at that time between true and false disciples, 
then the same thing is true both of the twelve Apostles 
and of the Angels, as ministers of God’s judgments upon 


GOD AND HIS ANGERS WILL DO THE SORTING. 1 7 1 


the earth. When the promise is made to the Apostles 
that they shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve 
tribes of Israel, the reference manifestly is to the Messianic 
kingdom, which, after the destruction of Jerusalem, was 
to be founded on the ruins of the elder dispensation, Yet 
the judgment upon the Holy City and the Temple is 
represented in the Book of the Revelation as given into 
the hands of Angels to execute. It is when they sound 
their trumpets that the city falls. So is it likewise in the 
parable and its explanation. The personality of the Apos- 
tles themselves is throughout “ carefully kept in the back- 
ground, and the supernatural side is made prominent, for 
the reason that the parable is spoken for the comfort and 
strengthening of the faith of the disciples in the face of 
the temptation which the strange appearance of the un- 
godly amid the righteous might present to their faith in 
the newly founded kingdom of God. In this sense, after 
the disciples had been told that it was not their business 
to carry out the excision of the ungodly within the pres- 
ent aeon, the prospect is spread before them at the close 
that this excision will be the work of the angels at the 
end of the world,” * or the consummation of the age. 
But whatever explanation of the seeming discrepancy we 
may feel disposed to adopt, the all-important truth re- 
mains, that the economy of grace or probation is to be 
followed by an economy of separation and reprobation. In 
the one case we are in the hands of men ; in the other, in 
the hands of God and His angelic ministers. Nor is it to 


* Goebel. 


172 THE FISHERMAN'S WORK TO CATCH THE FISH; 


be forgotten in this connection that the only portion of the 
parable which our Lord thinks it needful to explain is the 
concluding part, which touches upon the final separation. 
He leaves the rest to be guessed at ; but the meaning of 
the warning at the last He would put beyond all question 
or dispute, by Himself setting His seal upon the certainty 
of the retribution which is sure to follow upon the neglect 
of the opportunities afforded under the economy of proba- 
tion. 

It will be observed that the parable of the Net closes 
very much in the same way as that of the Tares. Yet 
there are some differences. In the Tares it is the wicked 
who are gathered into bundles, since it is the aim of the 
parable to give prominence to the final separation of the 
disturbing element from the kingdom, where it has no 
proper place; here it is the good fish which are gathered 
into vessels, since it is the object of the parable to make 
prominent the final ingathering of the elect. The para- 
bles move in different spheres : in the one case it is the 
world and the economy of probation which rules ; in the 
other it is the Church and the final victory. The one 
has to do with the beginning ; the other with the close. 

S. Gregory’s* summary of the parable is admirable. 
“ The Holy Church is likened to a net, because it is given 
into the hands of fishers, and by it each man is drawn 
into the heavenly kingdom, out of the waves of this pres- 
ent world, that he should not be drowned in the depths 
of eternal death. This net gathers of every kind of fishes, 

* Catena A urea, vol. i., p. 315. 


GOD AND HIS ANGELS WILL DO THE SORTING. 1 73 


because the wise and the foolish, the free and the slave, 
the rich and the poor, the strong and the weak, are called 
to forgiveness of sin; it is then fully filled when, in the 
end of all things, the sum of the human race is com- 
pleted ; as it follows, which , when it was filled, they drew 
out , and sitting down on the shore , gathered the good into 
vessels, but the bad they cast away . For as the sea signi- 
fies the world, so the sea-shore signifies the end of the 
world ; and as the good are gathered into vessels, but the 
bad cast away, so each man is received into eternal abodes ; 
while the reprobate, having lost the light of the inward 
kingdom, are cast forth into outer darkness. But now 
the net of faith holds good and bad mingled together 
in one; but the shore shall discover what the net of 
the Church has brought to land.” 


NOTES. 

Ver. 47. — The (Tay^vT} differed from the a/j.(f>l$Ar)(TTpov, or “casting-net.” 
It was of immense length, sometimes the length of half a mile, leaded below, 
with corks above. The casting-net was thrown by hand, and used for fishing 
in streams and rivers; the “draw-net” was dragged by men in a boat, and 
was adapted only to deep-sea fishing. Lachmann and Tischendorf give a 
somewhat different reading in the relative clause from the received version, 
but on insufficient grounds, as it would appear. 

Ver. 48. — The rh <rcwrpeb are “corrupt, dead fish, in a state of rottenness,” 
in opposition to the ra Ka\a , sound fish, fit for use. Believers are being pre- 
pared for God’s table, as mystically represented by Jesus eating of the 
broiled fish after the resurrection. In the parable of the tares the bad seed 
are not persons of corrupt lives, but men who give “offence” and “do law- 
lessly.” 



garaMes of ffree (Brace : 

ADDRESSED TO THE APOSTLES 
AS ADMINISTRATORS OF THE KINGDOM. 


I. glxe (Due JTeaxj JTxcep. 

ii. glxe deacioxxs %iuq auxX tlxe ^mueecxTuX ^er- 
rant. 

III. 3JIxe gafterees iu tlxe THueyaexX. 





PARABLES OF FREE GRACE. 


The Seven Fundamental Parables are followed up in 
S. Matthew by three specially addressed to the Apostles, 
regarding the nature of the kingdom, as a kingdom of 
grace. It is the aim of the series to impress upon the 
minds of the Twelve the cultivation of a gracious and lov- 
ing spirit in the administration of the trust which, in due 
course of time, is to be committed to them. 

And, first of all, they are to remember that Jesus came 
to save the lost. They must be on their guard, accord- 
ingly, against the proud Rabbinical spirit 
which affects to despise the ignorance of child- 
hood, or the prejudices of the weak, or the misfortunes of 
the erring and the lost. They are to keep it in mind con- 
tinually, that the kingdom of heaven, unlike the kingdoms 
of this world, is a kingdom in which children have the first 
claim ; and in which the feeble-minded, and such as are 
liable to err and go astray, receive even greater attention 
than those who are able to take care of themselves. As 
good shepherds, they must not think the loss of even one 
little one beneath their notice. 

But over and above their rejection of the proud, worldly 
spirit, which pays no regard to the erring and the weak, 
The Gracious the Apostles must remember that the aim of 
Unmerciful the Jesus in founding the Church “ was to pre- 
servant. serve and strengthen the new life in individ- 

uals, by mutual contact and reciprocal influence, and to 
diffuse it in new and wider spheres.” As members of the 


12 


i/8 


PARABLES OP EPEE GRACE. 


Church, disciples owe to each other more especially, mut- 
ual forbearance and the forgiveness of injuries. Believers 
stand in a much closer relation to each other than to the 
world without. It is a first duty, accordingly, to endeavor 
to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. If a 
brother sin against a brother, the Christian rule is to go 
first and tell the erring brother his fault, and if he refuse 
to be reconciled then he is to be brought before the Church. 
The Apostles must remember, then, that the kingdom of 
heaven is not only a refuge for the lost, but it is a king- 
dom of grace , in which the spirit of charity and brotherly 
regard and forgiveness of injuries prevails. Brother must 
extend forgiveness to brother not only seven times, but, if 
need be, even to seventy times seven. 

And as there must be a liberal spirit toward those who 
are bound in the same bonds of fraternal relationship 
with themselves, so also there must be an ab- 
tJth e vineyard. sence of everything like jealousy, when they 
shall see others admitted to equal privileges 
with themselves. They have been called to serve in the 
Lord’s vineyard ; and they may rest assured that every 
laborer in the vineyard will receive, at the last, the wages 
which is his due : but they must also remember that the 
kingdom in which they are called to labor is a kingdom of 
grace, and if some like themselves are to be accounted first, 
and have a “ pre-eminent position assigned to them,” yet 
they are not on that account to murmur if others, inferior in 
rank and later called, should be placed on an equal footing 
with the first-called, since the reward is not of debt, but of 
grace. “ Their very claim to superiority, on the ground of 
their own works, can only prove them to be destitute of the 
spirit of the kingdom, and disqualify them for its blessings.” * 


* Cotterell. 


PARABLES OF FREE GRACE. 


79 


It will be seen, then, how naturally the three parables 
now addressed to the disciples, on the nature of the pas- 
toral care , and the spirit in which the office to which they 
have been called is to be discharged, follow after the 
parables spoken in private to the disciples, on their first 
entering upon their preparation for the work of the min- 
istry. The great truth which Jesus seeks to enforce is 
that “ all office and order in the Church of Christ are 
widely distinguished from those which exist in worldly 
kingdoms, inasmuch as they are for the ministration of 
spiritual blessings, and cannot be fulfilled truly except by 
those personal offices to men for their spiritual good, 
which to the world seem degrading and mean, but of 
which Jesus Christ’s ministry is the pattern.”* 

The entire change in the character of the symbolism is 
worthy of notice. The Apostles are not now addressed in 
their missionary character as laborers in the field ; nor as 
merchantmen making ventures for the sake of reward ; nor 
as fishers in the deep sea : but as men who, in the course 
of events, are to be called to the pastoral office. It will 
be found, upon examination, that the whole section in 
which these parables occur is one specially devoted to 
the training of the Twelve, in the things pertaining to 
the kingdom of heaven. It opens with the taking of the 
young child and the placing him in the midst of the 
Twelve; and the rebuke administered to the worldly spirit 
called forth by the scene of the Transfiguration, when the 
disciples began to question one with another as to which 
of them shall be the greater in the kingdom of heaven. 
Out of this springs the parable of the Shepherd Seeking 
the One Stray Sheep, in which Jesus points the Apostles 
to the nature of their true vocation as the representatives 


* Cotterell. 


i8o 


PARABLES OF FREE GRACE . 


of God’s true Israel. They are called to be shepherds, as 
Abel was ; and as Abraham and Isaac and Jacob were ; 
and as their fathers who went down to Egypt were, and 
were hated by the Egyptians because of it. They are to 
see their true vocation represented in men of the type of 
Moses and David : and it is in their spirit, and not in the 
spirit of the self-seeking, worldly, overbearing leaders of 
the Theocracy in their own day and generation, they are 
to enter upon the work committed to their care. 

Then, as called to rule in the Church, and entrusted 
with the power of the keys, with authority to open and to 
shut, the Apostles are to bear in mind that they are the 
servants of a king whose first act, in taking possession of 
His kingdom, was to release the debtor from his bonds 
and bid the prisoner go forth out of his prison-house. 
Woe be unto them who, having found mercy, have no 
disposition to show mercy ! It is to be observed that the 
parable of the Gracious King and the Unmerciful Servant 
was spoken to the disciples immediately after the dis- 
course upon the rules of Christian forgiveness, and the 
power given to the Apostles and their successors to open 
and to shut. Here, for the first time, we meet with the 
word CHURCH, in the sense of a society, with rules for 
the reconciliation and exclusion of offending members. 
The moral is, that the power of the keys is given, not to 
lord it over the consciences of men, but for the spiritual 
benefit of those who, whatever their differences in the 
way of official trust, stand to each other in the relation of 
brethren. 

The third and last parable of the series follows close 
upon the promise given to the Apostles, that, as a return 
for their having given up all to follow Jesus, they shall 
have the position assigned to them of sitting upon twelve 


PARABLES OF FREE GRACE. 


1 8 1 


thrones, when the time comes for “ the regeneration ” of 
Israel, and they shall be called upon to act as assessors in 
the judgment then to be pronounced upon “ the twelve 
tribes.” While their act of renunciation will receive its 
reward, then, they must never allow themselves to forget, 
upon the other hand, that they owe their position to the 
beneficence of the Lord on high, who sent forth His Mes- 
siah to gather the disciples together and train them to be 
subjects of His kingdom. Had the laborers sought for 
employment, and secured it for themselves, they might 
claim a reward ; but since the lord of the vineyard had 
sought for them, and called them, not for his own advan- 
tage, but for their profit, they must not allow the idea of 
obligation or return to overshadow in their minds the 
idea of free grace; and, above all, they must not look 
with a jealous eye upon others, who, at some later day, 
may be called to take their place in the vineyard. 




























































































. 






















































































* 




















VIII. 


£Ixe (Due jstvay 




VIII. 


gfrjc ©rue Mxavi Jjlxejep. 

THE FIRST GREAT OBJECT OF THE PASTORAL CARE IS 
THE RESTORATION OF THE WEAK AND THE ERRING. 


How think ye ? If a man have an hundred that sheep than of the ninety and nine which 
sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth went not astray. Even so, it is not the will of 
he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth your Father which is in heaven that one of 
into the mountains, and seeketh that which is these little ones should perish. — S. Matt. 
gone astray ? And if so be that he find it, xviii. 12-14. 
verily I say unto you, He rejoiceth more of 

The placing of the little child in the midst of the circle 
of the twelve Apostles, with which S. Matthew prefaces 
his version of the stray sheep, was, as the sequel proves, 
of the nature of an acted parable ; and if carefully fol- 
lowed up will be found to furnish us with the true key to 
the interpretation. The introduction of the young child, 
at this precise juncture, would appear to have served a 
double purpose. It furnished the opportunity of setting 
before the disciples, in a living way, the nature of the 
moral qualities needful for entrance into the kingdom of 
heaven. Instead of attempting anything like an abstract 
presentation of the nature of the new birth, as afterward 
in the case of Nicodemus, Jesus accommodates Himself 
to the feeble apprehension of the twelve, and presents 


1 86 FIRST GREAT OBJECT OF PASTORAL CARE. 


the whole subject of the pastoral care in the form of an 
acted parable. Taking advantage of the dispute which 
had sprung up among the disciples, immediately after the 
scene of the transfiguration, as to which of them is going 
to be the greater in the kingdom which they were sure 
was now very near at hand, Jesus took a little child, and 
set him in the midst of the men disputing about preroga- 
tive and high place ; and tells them that unless they are 
prepared to put aside their high thoughts, and become 
as little children, in docility and lowliness of heart, they 
shall never enter the kingdom in which they aspire to 
rule. 

But Jesus had another and wider purpose to fulfil in 
setting the young child in the circle of the twelve Apos- 
tles. He seizes upon the opportunity which the occasion 
furnishes, to set before the future teachers of the faith the 
nature of their vocation, and the truly sacred — if humble 
— character of the work to which they have been called. 
He would have them see, then, in this little child, the 
type of character which He as their Master holds in most 
esteem — “of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus thus 
not only vindicates the right of children to be admitted 
to all the privileges of His kingdom, but He goes on to 
declare the further truth, that it is from among men of 
simple and childlike habits and turn of mind His future 
disciples are to be drawn. His kingdom, unlike the king- 
doms of this world, is not going to attract to it the rich, 
and the learned, and the wise, and the great ; it is from 
guileless and simple-minded men, and from the poor in 


THE RESTORATION OF THE WEAK AND ERRING. 1 8 7 


heart, that He prefers to take His disciples. The Twelve, 
in their ambition and pride of heart, had been rearing for 
themselves a proud edifice, but they have to be converted, 
and it is time they should begin to learn that their work, 
like their Master’s, is to stoop down to minister to little 
children, and to men of lowly and humble disposition, 
who are willing to be taught and ready to obey. They 
are to be the protectors and defenders of those whom the 
world despises : they are to minister to the lowly and the 
broken-hearted ; and they are to account none so poor, or 
so ignorant, or so feeble as not to be worthy of their re- 
gard. 

It is not, then, with the sentiment of childhood, or with 
the love of children for their own sake, that we have here 
to do. Jesus is dealing with something far deeper and of 
a different nature altogether. His great aim is to guard 
His Apostles against indulging in dreams and hopes, the 
inevitable effect of which would be a tone and temper of 
mind at variance with the true nature of their calling, and 
the work which they are to be given to do. Not only are 
His representatives called upon to be humble, but they 
must have respect for the humble. It is with the “poor 
in spirit ” and with men of humble and unassuming char- 
acter they are to seek to identify themselves ; not with 
the proud and the self-sufficient. Jesus well knew how 
much the unassuming, childlike disposition, free from 
everything like self-assertion, was just that which men of 
worldly spirit were in the habit of overlooking and thrust- 
ing aside. In opposition to this, Jesus urges upon His 


1 88 FIRST GREAT OBJECT OF PASTORAL CARE, 


disciples, in words of solemn and awful warning, if they 
fail to fulfil His injunction, a tender and thoughtful con- 
sideration for a moral condition the prevailing tendency of 
which — whether in child or in adult — is self-distrust, and 
a desire to surrender itself with loving trustfulness to the 
guidance of others, with a firm belief in their willingness 
to assist such as yield themselves up to their care. Jesus 
does not hesitate to say that whoso receiveth such re- 
ceives Himself, even as He pronounces “ woe ” to the man 
who by his pride, or thoughtlessness, or contempt, offends 
one of His little ones. 

It is easy to see, then, how, after speaking of minister- 
ing to the innocent and the guileless, and the humble and 
the meek, and the self-abased and the lowly in heart, 
Jesus naturally passes on to include the erring and such 
as shall wander from the right way, as among those who 
are to have a claim upon the regard of those sent forth to 
minister in His name. 

At first sight there seems some discrepancy in reckon- 
ing the erring and the wanderers with the innocent and lit- 
tle children, and the critics have tried to reject the verse 
which bears witness to this fact altogether from the text. 
But the discrepancy is only on the surface, and is based 
upon a false view of the parable as given by S. Matthew. 
The point of view from which the sheep is here regarded 
is altogether different from the point of view taken by S. 
Luke. In S. Luke, Jesus is contending with the Phari- 
sees, and is vindicating the right of men like Matthew and 
Zaccheus to be admitted into the kingdom of heaven. 


THE REST OR A TION OF THE WEAK AND ERRING. 1 89 


Here, on the contrary, Jesus is speaking to the Apostles, 
and is giving them an instruction on the subject of the 
pastoral care. He is warning them against the proud 
spirit which would hold children, and men in whom the 
moral qualities of childhood still find a place, in light es- 
teem. So far from this, they will find among such the 
qualities best fitted to make disciples out of ; lowliness 
and humility become those who are recipients of divine 
grace. But such persons claim their peculiar care for an- 
other reason. They are by the very guilelessness of their 
nature open to the assaults of bad and designing men, and 
liable to be led astray. If simplicity and innocence and 
guilelessness make such capable of good influence, their 
very virtues, on the other hand, expose them to the danger 
of reposing confidence in those they ought not. Bad and 
wicked men will seek their hurt, and will betray them to 
their ruin. The true pastor, then, will always be on the 
watch for those who, because of their innocence and sim- 
plicity of character, are liable to be led astray. Goebel, 
who recognizes the characteristic differences of S. Matthew 
and S. Luke in their application of the parable, calls atten- 
tion to the notable fact that S. Matthew speaks of the 
sheep throughout as a stray sheep,* whereas S. Luke char- 
acterizes it as lost . f S. Matthew regards the sheep as al- 
ready in the fold, and straying from it, whereas in S. Luke 
it has to be sought out and brought into the fold. The 
point of view from which S. Luke speaks is that of the 
Incarnation, hence he speaks of Jesus as seeking in order 

* rb irKavu>[xevou. f rb air6\(a\os. 


190 FIRST GREAT OBJECT OF PASTORAL CARE , 


that He may save. S. Matthew omits the seeking, for he 
regards the sheep as already brought under the Shepherd’s 
care, but still in danger of wandering and being led astray. 
S. Luke, with the ingathering of the Gentiles in his mind, 
speaks of the angels as rejoicing over the repenting sinner. 
In S. Matthew, on the other hand, the sheep is spoken of 
as “ one ” of Christ’s “ little ones,” and says of such that it 
is not the will of your Father which is in heaven that they 
should perish. Meyer notes that in S. Matthew the point 
of the comparison lies simply in the unwillingness to let 
perish ; in the parable this is represented by the case of a 
strayed sheep, for the purpose of teaching the disciples that 
“ if a fu/cpos happens to err from the faith and the Chris- 
tian life, they should not abandon him, but try to induce 
him to amend. What is said in regard to the puicpol (little 
ones) is therefore put in the form of a climax : (i) Do not 
despise them, inasmuch as you would cause them to go 
astray, and be an occasion of their ruin (vv. 6-10). On 
the contrary, if one does go wrong, rescue him just as the 
shepherd rescues his wandering sheep, in order that it may 
not be lost (vv. 12-14).” The term “ little ones,” which is 
here so frequently repeated, Weiss observes, has its coun- 
terpart in the expression “ little flock,” by which Jesus 
elsewhere speaks of His disciples. It is such a flock of 
weak and despised ones that Jesus has now in His mind 
in connection with the pastoral care which the Twelve are 
to exercise over them. For their sakes they must bq 
humble-minded ; for their sakes they must be watchful in 
the things which belong to their own life and converse 


THE RESTORATION OF THE WEAK AND ERRING. 191 


tion ; not to give them any cause of offence, even to the 
cutting off “ of reasonable liberty of action, if need be,” 
so as not to put stumbling in their way; and if they 
should offend, they must not let them because of their 
offence wander farther away, but must go and seek them 
out until they find them, and not rest until they bring 
them back again. The true application of the parable, 
then, it is manifest in S. Matthew, is not to sinners, as in 
S. Luke, and to such as are still unreclaimed, or in the 
state of nature : but to saints (in the scriptural meaning of 
the word), and to those who are in the state of grace, and 
who by giving or taking offence have wandered away, and 
are to be diligently sought after by such as are called to 
the work of the ministry, and brought back again to the 
fold of Christ. The best explanation of what is meant to 
be enforced is furnished by our Lord Himself in the action 
which He enjoins upon every follower of His in event of 
offence given by another. He lays down the rule that, in- 
stead of letting the offended seek us, as the Rabbins taught, 
we are to go and seek them ; and instead of speaking of 
the matter to others, and so letting the rumors spread 
abroad to the fanning of the flame, we are to go, first of 
all, to the person who has been the cause of offence, and 
speak to himself alone. In event off failing to bring the 
wrong-doer to a proper mind, we are then (but not until 
then) to bring the matter before the Church ; and in no 
case are we to spread it before the world. 

And now to turn to the parable itself. It opens, as 
Bengel observes, with a familiar term of address, “ How 


192 FIRST GREAT OBJECT OF PASTORAL CARE, 


does it seem to you ?” Jesus seeks to enlist the sympathy 
of His disciples, and to gain their cordial consent to what 
He is about to say, and so He asks them if they do not 
agree with Him in thinking that, If a man had a hundred 
sheep , and one of them went astray , would he not leave the 
ninety and nine , and going forth upon the mountains seek 
after that which had gone astray ? It is not the loss con- 
sidered as a matter of value ; but, as the context proves, 
what men might regard as the smallness of the loss, which 
is here to be taken into account. If the thought of one 
sheep left to stray will, for the moment, make the shep- 
herd forget the ninety and nine, and send him forth over 
the mountains to search for it, “ how much more should 
the loss of a little one who believes in Christ, and who 
is thought worthy of having a guardian angel provided 
for it by God, disturb the good pastor, and impel him to 
go forth to reclaim the wanderer, and rescue it in time 
from the danger which threatens its salvation ! ” It is 
worthy of note how this thought of the worth of the 
individual soul is, by constant repetition, forced upon the 
attention of the Twelve throughout this whole discourse. 
It is said (ver. 5), “ whoso shall receive one ( ei > ) such little 
child in my name, receiveth me ; ” and again, “ whoso shall 
offend one (era) of these little ones that believeth in me ; ” 
and again, “ take heed that ye despise not one (era?) of 
these little ones ; ” and again, “ it is not the will of your 
Father which is in heaven that one (e£?) of these little 
ones should perish.” Three times in the introduction to 
the parable, and once again in the conclusion, the notion 


THE RESTORATION OF THE WEAK AND ERRING. 1 93 

of the individual is introduced, and wherefore ? To em- 
phasize the truth which it is the object of the parable 
more especially to illustrate — the priceless value of the 
soul for which Christ died. The world loses itself in 
the thought of the multitudinous and the complex. It 
thinks only of the vast, the majestic, and the aggregate. 
It is one of the chief dangers which attaches to a too ex- 
clusive devotion to physical science that the vastness and 
complexity of nature overwhelm the soul with a sense of 
its own insignificance, and men lose their grasp upon the 
thought of the soul’s individual worth. Now, in opposi- 
tion to this, Jesus labors to impress upon His disciples 
the thought of the infinite value of the least human soul. 
As He knoweth His own sheep by name, so also must it 
be with His disciples. If a man have a hundred sheep, 
that does not prevent his caring for the one that has 
had the misfortune to go astray. He will even hazard 
the safety of the rest and go after that which is lost until 
he find it. We are not to think of the leaving of the 
ninety and nine as implying any neglect of them, or any- 
thing like indifference to their wants. They are left be- 
cause they are in safe keeping. In the state of grace 
there are those who are able to stand, as well as those 
who fall. It is a state, indeed, in which the erring are, 
it is presumed, the exception, and not the rule. Nor are 
we to think of the joy which the shepherd experiences 
over the recovery of the lost sheep as the only kind of 
joy of which the heart is capable. What is meant is, that 
the Church cannot and ought not to rest content with 


194 FIRST GREAT OBJECT OF PASTORAL CARE, 


the sense of mere possession, or of multitude (unhappily, 
alas! she often does), but is, like her Master, to make 
each individual soul an object of tender solicitude and re- 
gard. Nor does her mission cease with bringing in men to 
the protection of the fold ; but she watches with tender 
solicitude after those who stray away, and she never rests 
until she is able to persuade them to return. Whatever 
her gains, whatever the number of her converts, the Church 
can never allow herself to forget that her mission is to 
the lost, and she deems it no hardship to go out of her 
proper sphere (so to speak) to search after such as stray 
away and get lost, “ if haply she may find them .” Bengel 
calls attention to the peculiar phraseology of S. Matthew 
here, as contradistinguished from the mpre emphatic lan- 
guage of S. Luke. The words, 11 and if so be that he find 
it,” would appear to be used with a view of suggesting 
that grace is not indefectible ; it is possible to fall away 
from grace, and it is possible that, with every effort made, 
the wanderer may never be persuaded to return. Isaac 
Williams, in his poem of “ The King’s Daughter,” has em- 
bodied the fundamental idea of the parable in a very re- 
markable manner. The “ Church on earth,” he says, 

“ Shadow of Him who gave her birth, 

E’en like her Lord when seen below, 

Should put on human charities, 

Visit each shape of human woe ; 

And, like her Master, should be known, 

Making our human feeling all her own, 

Visiting each in lowly dress 
Of more than human tenderness. 


THE RESTORATION OF THE WEAK AND ERRING . 195 


Unlike the world, whose mastering hand 
Dominion grasps o’er sea and land, 

Numbers her thousands, makes her laws, 
Where iron-handed wisdom draws 
Her demarcation, and her line 
Of even-handed discipline. 

Marks out the vast material mass 
Of armies, trades ; in giant class 
Before her eyes the numbers pass, 

And thousands more succeed : with rules 
Marks out her fields, her marshall’ d schools 
Moulding and blending into one 
In centralizing union ; 

Hardened and hardening all the heart 
Of those who with her take their part. 

Not so the Church, which comes from high, 
Cloth’ d with all human sympathy ; 

By no rude laws by statesmen given 
Her willing souls she wins to heaven. 

But by the hearts and voice of men, 

For hearts are all she claims again : 

It is the heart she strives to teach — 

With lives far more than laws to preach ; 
Bishops and pastors sends to each ; 

Walks like her Master with the poor, 

And lifts the latch ; by some lone hearth 
She finds a soul of such vast worth, 

That mightiest armies in their stir 
She heeds not, and they mark not her. 
While by that ivy-mantled door 
Conversing with a soul, her eye 
Traverses through eternity, 

While gazing on the indented floor ; 

With each converses, visits each, 

Each in her arms she takes, her speech 
Is to each heart ; while companies 
In noiseless order heavenward rise. 

Along the unnumber’d line each one 
She tends as if on him alone. 

Each takes by the baptismal wave, 

And each lets down into his grave ; 


196 FIRST GREAT OBJECT OF PASTORAL CARE, 


For each she looks, with each she feels, 
And unto each her God reveals ; 

With each her Saviour deigns to dwell 
E’en in the turf-roof’d cell.” 


Wordsworth throws in a needed caution when,' in his re- 
marks upon the words, “ he rejoices more of that sheep than 
over the ninety and nine which went not astray ,” he sug- 
gests as a correction of our Authorized Version, he re- 
joices rather upon it , observing that “ He does not say 
7 r\eov, but fiaXkov ; not plus , but magis ; not more, but 
rather , i.e., at the time of the recovery and restoration of 
the one lost sheep. His joy is rather directed to that par- 
ticular sheep than to all the rest. And why ? Because 
that particular sheep is now delivered from the condition 
of misery, for which He had so much grieved, and be- 
cause it is restored to the company and condition of the 
other sheep who have not strayed, and in whom He joys 
so much.” It is to pervert a great truth, to the ruin of 
souls, to draw from the picture the Antinomian doctrine 
that God rejoices more over the restoration of the erring, 
than He does over the steadfastness of those who continue 
in the state of grace. 

The concluding words, “ Even so, it is not the will of your 
Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should 
perish ,” are our Lord’s own interpretation of the meaning 
of the parable. It is of “ the little ones,” the weak and 
erring members of His own flock, that He has been speak- 
ing in the parable, as in the charge to the disciples which 
preceded it. “ It is the same figurative circumstances,” 


THE RESTORATION OF THE WEAK AND ERRING. 1 97 


Goebel observes, “ which are worked out in almost the 
same way in S. Matthew and S. Luke,” but “employed to 
set forth ” in each quite a different point of doctrine. “ In 
Luke’s parable the matter in hand is, first, a justifica- 
tion of the special trouble taken by Jesus in winning and 
converting each individual of the morally low class of pub- 
licans and sinners, while disparaging the morally righte- 
ous, who thought they had no need of repentance ; sec- 
ondly, His claim on others to rejoice with Him, instead 
of murmuring at the conversion of every sinner. Here, 
on the contrary, the matter in hand is a testimony, first, to 
the special care which God takes even of the least believer 
in Jesus, to save him from being misled and lost, and then 
to the special divine joy at the preservation of such a 
4 little one,’ who was in danger of being lost — both in com- 
parison with those believers who do not need care of this 
kind in the same degree, and for this reason are less an ob- 
ject of that joy.” 


NOTES. 

Ver. ii. — Lachmann and Tischendorf, followed by Meyer and Westcott 
and Hort, would reject verse 1 1, on the authority of the Cod. Sinait. and 
Codd. B., L., I.,j but it is found in Cod. G. and in the Vulgate, and both 
Syriacs (Peshito and Cureton). It is hard to see why the farrioui of S. Luke 
is omitted before owat in S. Matthew, if the verse is an interpolation by a 
later hand from S. Luke, as Griesbach suggests. Alford sustains the received 
text. 

Ver. 12. — Meyer connects ini to oprj with cupels, after the Vulgate and 
Luther ; but Wordsworth follows the Authorized Version and connects with 
nopevOels. 

Ver. 14. — ovx eon 6e\rip.a : Not, “it is not the will but, “ He is unwill- 
ing that any should perish ” (Wordsworth.) 


















* 







































































































































































































IX. 

^Ixc GSracioxxs |pmx aucl ITxc ^Xmuctxxt'xxl 




IX. 


<£Txj e (Gvacunts %xuq atul the W.nmzxcxfnl ilcvumnt. 


THEY WHO OWE THEIR PLACE TO THE KING'S GRACE 
MUST LEARN TO DEAL GRACIOUSLY. 


Therefore is the kingdom of heaven lik- 
ened unto a certain king, which would take 
account of his servants. And when he had 
begun to reckon, one was brought unto him 
which owed him ten thousand talents ; but 
forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord com- 
manded him to be sold, and his wife and chil- 
dren, and all that he had, and payment to be 
made. The servant therefore fell down, and 
worshipped him, saying, Lord have patience 
with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord 
of that servant was moved with compassion, 
and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 
But the same servant went out, and found 
one of his fellow-servants which owed him an 
hundred pence ; and he laid hands on him, 
and took him by the throat, saying. Pay me 
that thou owest. And his fellow- servant fell 
down at his feet, and besought him, saying, 


Have patience with me, and I will pay thee 
all. And he would not ; but went and cast 
him into prison, till he should pay the debt. 
So when his fellow servants saw what was 
done, they were very sorry, and came and told 
unto their lord all that was done. Then his 
lord, after that he had called him, said unto 
him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee 
all that debt, because thou desiredst me : 
should est not thou also have had compassion 
on thy fellow- servant, even as I had pity on 
thee ? And his lord was wroth, and deliv- 
ered him to the tormentors, till he should pay 
all that was due unto him. So likewise shall 
my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye 
from your hearts forgive not everyone his 
brother their trespasses. — S. Matt, xviii. 
23 - 35 - 


Having warned His disciples that offences must come, 
Jesus, as we have seen, provided against it. He laid it 
down, as a rule, that whensoever a brother shall trespass 
against a brother, instead of throwing upon the transgres- 
sor the burden of apology, the offended one must seek out 
the offender, and so make the first advance toward recon- 
ciliation. Before speaking to another, we are to go after 


202 THEY WHO OWE THEIR PLACE TO THE KING'S 


the wrong-doer, not doubting but that a kind word will 
have a good effect upon him, and after making him aware 
of his fault we are to hold out to him the right hand of 
fellowship. It is manifestly only another application of 
the principle of seeking out the lost. Were such a gen- 
erous and unselfish spirit to prevail at all times in the 
Church, it would be like a strong city defended by walls 
and bulwarks against the attacks of him who goes about 
continually to sow dissension and strife among brethren. 

But unhappily, as it has been observed, we follow the 
way of the world, and do the contrary of all this. If ag- 
grieved, we complain to others first, and in telling the 
story of our wrongs to them we get more and more out of 
temper ; and when, at last, in a fit of exasperation, we do 
speak to the offender, the mischief has been done; when 
it is. found out that we have spoken of the matter to 
others, the wrong-doer is roused to a sense of provoca- 
tion, his self-esteem is wounded,, and reconciliation is 
made impossible. 

It was to guard against this that Jesus laid down the 
rule for His disciples that the offended, and not the of- 
fender, must first be the seeker. It is putting into force, 
in another way,, the principle laid down in the Sermon on 
the: Mount, that if one smite us upon the right cheek we 
must turn to him the other also. It is not an easy prin- 
ciple to carry into practice, and so Jesus seized upon the 
first occasion to illustrate it by a parable, the burden of 
which is, that inasmuch as admission to the privileges of 
the kingdom is based on repentance and forgiveness , the im- 


GRACE MUST LEARN TO DEAL GRACIOUSLY. 203 


placable refusal to forgive a brother , without regard to the 
number of offences to be forgiven , will involve the forfeit- 
ure of our state of grace , and at the last cause us to incur 
the judgment of the wrath of God. 

Peter, as it would appear, was conscious of short-com- 
ing, and with a view to self-justification he put to his 
Master the question, “ Lord, how oft shall my brother sin 
against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?” Jesus, 
in answer to his question, saith unto him, “ I say not unto 
thee until seven times, but until seventy times seven.” In 
other words, there is to be no limit in the number of a 
brother’s offences beyond which forgiveness is not to be 
regarded as a duty. The Christian’s revenge, in the way 
of satisfaction, must equal, at least, the self-avenging of 
Lamech (Gen. iv. 24). To put this duty in its proper 
light — the obligation of extending to others what we 
have ourselves received — Jesus tells to His disciples the 
story of the Gracious King and the Unmerciful Servant. 
It is not now, He intimates, as in times past : A change has 
taken place. It is a change which has come about in the 
mystery of the Incarnation ; and as a consequence thereof. 
The kingdom of heaven has assumed a human form, as it 
were, and bears no longer a legal but a royal character. 
God in Christ appears, not as a lawgiver, requiring of 
every man an exact fulfilment of the law ; but as a king 
bestowing grace and pardon. The kingdom, in the stage 
of development at which it has now arrived in the person 
of Christ Himself, “ has been made like ” a king, who in his 
coming wills as a first step “to take account of his servants /” 


204 THEY WHO OWE THEIR PLACE TO THE KING'S 


and whose manner of dealing with those who are in author- 
ity over others is to be the measure of their dealing with 
their fellow-servants : and is to be regarded as of the nat- 
ure of a law of obligation. S. Matthew, as his manner 
is, puts the special feature of the parable first, that we 
may see at a glance the point of comparison, and keep it 
in mind throughout. And here it is well to note the ad- 
vantage the parable has over mere didactic teaching. We 
are apt to think of grace in an abstract kind of way, as a 
mere doctrine or intellectual conception ; but here it is 
presented in a living and real way in the person of the 
king, who is the author and source of all grace ; and whose 
first act in coming is to have a reckoning with his ser- 
vants : The kingdom of heaven has been made like unto a 
king who would take account of his servants. 

It is the first time, Archbishop Trench remarks, when 
Jesus speaks of Himself as “ a king.” He is gradually pre- 
paring the minds of the disciples to discriminate between 
the law and the gospel. It belongs to a king to exercise 
grace, and bestow favors. Mercy “becomes the throned 
monarch better than his crown.” And the picture which 
He draws in the parable of the king taking account of his 
servants, is no fancy picture. It represents in reality the 
progress of events which are even now in process of fulfil- 
ment. The king is on his way to take possession of his 
throne. He will soon enter in triumphal procession the 
holy city. When he does so, there will of necessity be a 
time of reckoning. Then the new order will begin, and 
the old will pass away. And here, as elsewhere, salvation 


GRACE MUST LEARN TO DEAL GRACIOUSLY. 205 


is to be accompanied by judgment. There must needs be 
a reckoning before the new order is set up ; but it is to be a 
reckoning in which mercy is to triumph over justice. It 
will be observed that the reckoning here spoken of is not 
the final judgment. The king comes to “ take account 
of his servants .” The phrase is a commercial one, and 
implies the making of a settlement, the striking of “a 
periodical balance ” with the managers of the royal treas- 
ure or property. The king does not, come to take ven- 
geance on his enemies, but for the purpose of gathering 
around him his ministers and officers of state, and receiv- 
ing from them an account of the way they have adminis- 
tered the trust committed to their keeping. 

As it is important to note that the reckoning of the 
parable is not the final judgment, so it is to be observed 
that the servants are not ordinary persons, but officials , to 
whose management the king had entrusted his land and 
its revenues. The event referred to, in the debtor forci- 
bly brought to judgment, is the reckoning to which the 
Church and people of the Jews (as represented in the 
high-priests and persons in authority) are soon to be called, 
when the kingdom shall have passed into that stage rep- 
resented by the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Then 
the reckoning will have “ begun.” The taking of a peri- 
odical balance is something to be looked for at such a 
time. But we are not to confine the teaching of the par- 
able to this solitary event in the history of the kingdom. 
It is only the beginning of a series of such reckonings. 
There are in all ages times of periodical reckoning, when 


206 THEY WHO OWE THEIR PLACE TO THE KING'S 


the king wills to appear, and calls his servants to ac- 
count. The flood was a time of reckoning, of the kind 
spoken of, to the world at large. The downfall and 
destruction of the city of Jerusalem was another such 
calling of persons entrusted with authority to account. 
We have something of the same kind indicated, again, 
in the messages to the Seven Churches of Asia Minor. 
As our Lord is here speaking to His Apostles in their 
official capacity, so He draws a warning from the history 
of persons like situated with themselves — a warning more 
especially adapted to meet their case, for the judgment 
inflicted is brought about by the indulging of the spir- 
it which the question of Peter proves is not entirely 
extinct among the Twelve. Origen long ago remarked 
that “ the person brought to judgment in the parable was 
one entrusted with some government under the kingdom, 
which he had not rightly managed ; this is manifest,” he 
says, “ from the greatness of the sum with which he is 
charged in the account of his indebtedness. It is not 
therefore, as in the other parables, the stewards of their 
master’s property, but the satrap of a mighty kingdom.” 
The immensity of the sum mentioned — “ten thousand tal- 
ents ” — would seem to indicate the greater responsibility 
of the Church and people of the Jews. They were privi- 
leged more than others, and their responsibility was com- 
mensurate with the exceeding greatness of their privi- 
leges. A talent was equal to six thousand denarii. Ten 
thousand times six thousand, accordingly, is the measure 
of this man’s indebtedness. It is a sum almost beyond 


GRACE MUST LEARN TO DEAL GRACIOUSLY. 20*/ 


calculation, and forbids all hope of payment. There is 
nothing left for it, accordingly, but that the law should 
take its course ; so, “ forasmuch as he had not to pay , his 
lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and children , 
and all that he had , and payme?it to be made? Why this 
mention of wife and children ? Edersheim, following 
Goebel, says, “ It is simply a historical trait, introducing 
what in analogous circumstances might happen in real 
life.” But such a method of interpretation is as unscien- 
tific, as it is in danger of approximating to the profane. 
A debtor, according to ancient law, was responsible for his 
debt in person as well as in property ; and he might be 
sold, with his wife and children (who were regarded as 
part of himself), to satisfy the debt. This is undoubtedly 
true: but inasmuch as the action of the king is aimed not 
so much at the punishing of the debtor (to say nothing of 
his wife and children) as the recovery of the debt, we are 
forced to the conclusion, that there is some object to be 
served by the introduction here of “ wife and children .” 
If the reference be not, as it is not, to the final judgment, 
nor to the judgment to be passed at the last upon indi- 
viduals, but to the judgment passed from time to time 
upon churches, and upon persons entrusted with author- 
ity, like the twelve Apostles, the explanation of Raban 
Maur must be accepted, as substantially correct. “ The 
wife and children, according to the symbolism of Holy 
Scripture, represent the synagogue of the Jews, which, 
with its chief men and ministers, and all their substance, 
because of the greatness of their transgressions, were de- 


208 THEY WHO OWE THEIR PLACE TO THE KING'S 


livered into the power of foreign nations that they might 
be compelled to pay by affliction and torment what they 
refused to do willingly.” S. Chrysostom suggests that this 
command to sell “ wife and children, and all that he had,” 
was issued, not out of cruelty, but out of unspeakable ten- 
derness. For he seeks by these terrors to bring him to 
plead that he be not sold, which fell out, as he shows, when 
he adds, “ The servant therefore fell prostrate , and besought 
him saying , Have patience with me , and I will pay thee 
all.” A modern writer takes the same view of this por- 
tion of the parable. “ Viewed with reference to the his- 
tory of revelation,” Dr. Bruce says, “ the vigor and be- 
nignity combined in the behavior of the king represent 
the relation between the law and the gospel. The com- 
mand, sell the debtor, and all that he hath, that the debt 
may be paid, exhibits the legal attitude toward sin ; the 
free forgiveness of the debt exhibits the grace that came 
in with Jesus Christ. The one prepared for the other — 
the rigor of the law for the grace of the gospel. That 
rigor brought the debtor to his knees, with a petition 
coming far short of the grace in store, asking only for a 
time to pay, for a hired servant’s place ; for men are un- 
able to imagine, and dare not hope for the good which 
God has prepared for them. The rigor was meant to 
lead up to mercy through the way of repentance ; it was 
but a means to an end, for had it been otherwise the more 
beneficent dispensation had never come. The law was 
but a pedagogue to conduct to Christ.” 

It is one of those incidental touches which, more than 


GRACE MUST LEA AW TO DEAL GRACLOUSLY. 2Qg 


any more marked coincidence, bears witness to the unity 
of divine revelation, that here, as in the parable of the 
Prodigal Son, the mercy and goodness of God far out- 
strip the demand for recognition on the part of the sup- 
pliant. Not only does his lord and master do all that his 
servant asks for when he pleads for “ patience ,” but he 
goes farther than he dared to hope for — even the debt did 
he forgive to him (kcu to Sdvetov d$r\Kev avT&). With 
these words, so marked in their emphasis in the original, 
the introductory portion of the parable is brought to a 
close. The climax has been reached, and with it the 
reign of grace has begun. 

We have seen the king extending to the suppliant not 
only all that he asked for ; but going beyond all he had 
any reason to expect, and even cancelling the debt : what, 
we naturally ask, will be the effect of such magnanimous 
treatment on the recipient. Surely, when he goes forth 
from his lord’s presence, he will be ready to extend to 
others the forgiveness which he has himself received at 
his lord’s hands. “ Can we believe it possible that this 
‘ same servant ’ — this servant whose sin had thus been 
pardoned, and whose debt had thus been cancelled — this 
‘same servant,’ not another who had merely witnessed 
the Lord’s act of mercy, though even this would have 
been strange enough — this ‘ same servant ’ went out, not 
after a long interval, but ‘ out ’ from the immediate pres- 
ence of his master, ‘ and found,’ not an inferior, but ‘ a 
fellow-servant, which owed him an hundred pence ’ — a 
sum infinitely small in proportion to his own forgiven debt 
14 


210 THEY WHO OWE THEIR PLACE TO THE KING'S 


— and this ‘same servant,’ with violence of word and of ac- 
tion, laid hands upon his brother, and instead of forgiv- 
ing him seventy times seven, would not even forgive him 
once^ but took him by the throat, and said, ‘ Pay me that 
thou owest. 2 '” 

The writer just quoted has succeeded admirably in call- 
ing attention to the rhetorical emphasis by which the in- 
sensibility and hard-heartedness of the unmerciful servant 
are, with a feeling of something akin to contempt, pointed 
to in the parable. We had just been told that “ the lord 
of that servant ” was moved with compassion the moment 
he cried for mercy; we are now told, “ But THAT servant 
went out , and found one of his fellow-servants which owed 
him an hundred pence ; and he laid hands on him , and took 
him by the throat , saying , Pay me that thou owestf There 
is meaning in the emphatic repetition of the pronoun, 
and the emphasis laid upon the fact, that it was the same 
man who had been himself forgiven, who acted so un- 
mercifully toward his fellow-servant. The moral of the 
parable, it will be seen, is not the duty of “ placableness 
in general ” (Goebel), but the inconsistency, not to say 
the odiousness, of an unforgiving temper, on the part of 
those who themselves stand in their lord’s presence out 
of mercy, not of right ” (Bruce). The thing which Jesus 
seeks to impress upon the minds of His disciples by the 
contrast presented is, that the kingdom of heaven, as con- 
tradistinguished from the dispensation of the law, is the 
kingdom of the Lord, whose it is to remit debts; the 
kingdom where, not compensatory righteousness, but free 


GRACE MUST LEARN TO DEAL GRACIOUSLY. 21 I 


goodness and grace are to prevail : and that it is by our 
behavior to our “ fellow-servants,” under the law of char- 
ity, that we are to look for forgiveness at the last. 

The treatment of this portion of the parable by com- 
mentators generally is most unsatisfactory ; and the ques- 
tions raised, foreign to the scope and drift of the parable. 
The aim of our Lord in the whole representation is con- 
sistent throughout. He is not dealing with individuals 
(so that the question, whether sins once remitted can be 
made matter for punishment again, is not present for con- 
sideration), but with a fact which is present to His di- 
vine consciousness ; and which He here takes occasion to 
use in a prophetic way, as a warning to His disciples in 
view of the strong Jewish bias which was common to the 
minds of nearly all the earliest disciples of the faith. One 
of the greatest difficulties which the kingdom had to en- 
counter upon its first setting out, it will be remembered, 
was the presence of the Jewish element in it. Men re- 
garded it as Peter, in the present stage of his development, 
and as Nicodemus did, as a kind of more advanced Juda- 
ism ; but they could not take in the essentially free spirit 
of the Gospel. They were ready to acknowledge Jesus, 
as the Unitarian now does, to be a teacher come from 
God; but they could not, or would not, rise up to the 
great underlying principle of grace, that it is God, and not 
man, who extends forgiveness of sins to the sinner ; and he 
bestows royally, accordingly, and in a spirit of free, unlim- 
ited release. The debtor in the parable is the representa- 
tive of the Jewish or Ebionitish element, which prevailed 


212 THEY WHO OWE THEIR PLACE TO THE KING'S 


in the Early Church, and especially in Asia Minor. The 
begging for time — the promise to pay at the last — the de- 
mand for the whole bond and nothing less — the taking by 
the throat and the casting into prison — it is all the spirit 
of the law, and partakes of a mind and character entirely 
foreign to the Christian dispensation. It is to point this 
moral, that the fellow-servants are introduced making 
their complaint to the king, and telling him “ all that was 
done .” The fellow-servants represent the majority, in op- 
position to the minority in the Church, who were grieved 
at the legal attitude of the Judaizing element, and who 
fought with their prayers against it. Goebel notices the 
introduction of the fellow-servants into the dramatic ele- 
ment of the parable, and says, “ it is far too strange and 
emphatic, for it not to .demand a special interpretation.” 
His own interpretation is weak and unsatisfactory; for the 
reason that he does not recognize the historical progress 
in the growth and development of the kingdom, on which 
the whole imagery of the parable is based. He does not 
appreciate the difference between “ the periodical reckon- 
ing ” which takes place at the option of the king, and the 
final judgment at the last day in presence of the eternal 
judge. Goebel, with his usual discrimination, notes the 
fact that it is not “ so much the debtor’s lamentable fate, 
as the creditor’s lamentable conduct,” that is the cause of 
the sorrow on the part of the fellow-servants. The thing 
represented, is the protest, on the part of the Church, 
against a spirit which was foreign to her true nature and 
function. It is her duty to complain and to pray to her 


GRA CE MUST LEA RN TO BE A L GRA CIO USL Y. 2 1 3 


divine Head ; but not to judge the offender. Judgment 
belongs exclusively to Christ Himself. 

The third and concluding portion of the parable, is 
taken up with the judgment pronounced by the king 
upon the unmerciful servant. The king, in pronouncing 
judgment, compares his own merciful conduct with the 
cruel dealing of his officer : “ 0 thou wicked servant , I 
forgave thee all that debt , because thou desiredst me: 
shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellozv- 
servant , even as I had pity on thee?” The comparison 
here drawn proves the truth of the remark, that the 
“ parable has for its specific aim, not merely to inculcate 
the general duty of forgiveness, which is a part of natural 
ethics, but to inculcate that duty on men who are them- 
selves forgiven of God, and living under a reign of grace.” 
But it is not enough to note the comparison made be- 
tween the master and the servant ; and the recognition of 
the fact that the measure of forgiving love in the one is to 
be the measure for forgiveness on the part of the other: it 
is also to be noted that the one is regarded as standing in 
the relation of a cause to the other : “ Ought you not to 
have had compassion on thy fellow-servant , even as I had 
pity on thee ? ” It is the same thing which is said in an- 
other place (S. John xiii. 34) : “Anew commandment give 
I unto you, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” 
“ The duty,” it has been observed, “ corresponds to the 
moving machinery, and the motive to the stream of living 
water which makes the machinery go. The first part of 
the commandment tells what they (the disciples) ought to 


214 THEY WHO OWE THEIR PLACE TO THE KING'S 


do ; and the second part tells what will make them do it.” # 
The law of love is a new law, which entered in with the 
'coming of Jesus Christ into the world. Christian ethics 
differ from natural ethics, just as the act of Redemption 
differs from the act of Creation. The manifestation of 
God, in the person of Christ, has brought with it new ob- 
ligations. Christian obligation is something more than 
mere moral obligation. It has its roots in the great act 
of Redemption, which is something superadded to the 
act of Creation, and brings with it new responsibilities. 

The king, who before showed himself so gracious to his 
servant, and so ready to forgive, is now represented as 
burning with anger : He takes back all that he had prom- 
ised, and metes out to the wicked servant the very same 
punishment which he inflicted upon his fellow-servant. 
There is in reality no contradiction in the two representa- 
tions, for the relations of the parties have undergone an 
entire change. And with the change of relations there 
comes a change in the moral attitude of parties respec- 
tively. While it was a question of the remission of debt 
the king acts with compassion, for the object of the law 
was to lead to repentance, and so secure forgiveness. “It 
is the highest attribute of royalty to exercise grace. Grace 
sits enthroned above the sceptre of justice.”! But when 
the debtor is forgiven, and the relation is no longer one of 
justice but of mercy, then a new law takes the place of 
the old, by reason of the change which has taken place in 
the relationship of the parties. The parable is careful to 

* A mot on the Parables , p. 196. f Luthardt. 


GRA CE MUST LEARN TO DEAL GRA CIO USL Y. 2 1 5 


keep the change of relationship clearly in view. The fel- 
low-servants ground their complaint, not as judging their 
brother, but because he shows no mercy. When, the king 
in like manner, in pronouncing judgment, makes the pun- 
ishment exactly correspond in greatness and weight to the 
amount the unmerciful servant exacted of his brother, we 
are reminded thereby that “ the question, therefore, is no 
longer the payment of the debt, but the requital of the 
unmerciful one for his unmercifulness. Because he had 
not done to his fellow-servant as the lord had done to 
him, the lord now does to him as he himself had done to 
his fellow-servant, only that — and herein lies the terror of 
the retribution — the immeasurably higher amount of his 
debt renders his durance specially painful, and, moreover, 
leaves him without any prospect of termination.” 

Most significant is the extreme severity of language in 
the concluding portion of the parable as contrasted with 
the earlier. The king grows “ angry” and mercy turns to 
wrath. Grace resisted, the evil-doer becomes “ wicked,” 
and there is for him no more hope of restoration. He has 
sinned against the light, and his punishment is worse than 
it was when he was still under the educational influence 
of the law. If the new economy is richer in blessing 
than the old, the punishment is sharper and more severe 
for neglected privileges. There was still left the possi- 
bility of repentance and renewal ; here, the last hope is 
taken away, and there remains only a fearful looking for 
of judgment. 

And what is the judgment ? The king in his wrath 


21 6 THEY WHO OWE THEIR PLACE TO THE KING'S 


“ delivered him to the tormentors , till he should pay all that 
was due unto him” The punishment, it has been ob- 
served, is not a Jewish one (no such thing as torture, or 
imprisonment for life being recognized among the Jews) ; 
“ the structure of the parable represents what would take 
place in the court of some great heathen king, rather than 
among the chosen people.” It is the temporal punishment 
which befell the Jews as a people that is here spoken of, 
not the eternal punishment which follows upon the final 
judgment. The tormentors, as Raban Maur suggests, are 
the Roman people, into whose hands God gave the people 
of the Jews, that “ they should punish them with unceas- 
ing tortures.” To this day the debt has never been paid. 
The history of the Jews is the best commentary on the 
text. Since the day that their inhumanity made the Jews 
obnoxious to the Romans, they have been the subjects of 
untold tortures and cruelties among all people, and will 
continue to be so, if they repent not, to the end of the 
world. 

The concluding words : “ so, likewise , shall my heavenly 
Father do also unto you , if ye from your hearts forgive not 
every one his brother make it plain that our Lord is con- 
tinuing His training of the Twelve. Elsewhere Jesus, in 
speaking of the Father in connection with the disciples, 
calls Him “your Father;” but here, as He contemplates 
the possibility of their not dwelling in love, He appropri- 
ates Him to Himself, and cuts the disciples off from all 
share in the communion between Himself and His Father. 
The limiting clause, “ every one his brother ,” proves again 


GRA CE MUST LEARN TO DEAL GRA CIO USL Y. 21 7 


conclusively that the love, which Christian disciples owe 
to each other as brethren, is something more than mere 
natural liking or affection ; it is a forgiving love, based 
upon the consideration of each other’s weakness and lia- 
bility to offend ; and it is to be like the love of God to 
the sinner, not based upon the thought of return ; not 
bounded or limited in measure ; but free, and from the 
heart ; without measure or degree. Meyer notes that this 
is the only instance in the New Testament where the 
preposition from ( airo ) is used in connection with this 
phrase. 


NOTES. 

Ver. 22. — As the number seven in Holy Scripture is used to signify com- 
pleteness, the multiplication of 70 x 7 signifies that there is to be no stint or 
limit to forgiveness. Wordsworth notes that the number seventy times seven 
is the number of the years from the rebuilding of Jerusalem unto Christ, who 
brought in forgiveness of sins (Dan. ix. 24). 

Ver. 23. — The preterite, SpLoidOrj, is used instead of d/xoia iari, to mark the 
obligation which rests upon all who are members of the kingdom to forgive, 
in consequence of the forgiveness of which they are partakers through the 
redemption of Christ. 

Ver. 24. — Meyer observes that the phrase 'Zvvciipeiv k 6 you p.erd nvos, is 
used only here and in xxv. 19, and has the meaning of to take or settle an 
account with , not of ; confer re rationem cum. The debt, rb Sdveiov, is of the 
nature of a “ loan.” 

We must read, in ver. 24, irpoaiixOrj, instead of 7 rpo<rrji/ex 0 »j, without any dif- 
ference of meaning. “ By rakdvrov, a designation of a sum of money taken 
from weight, we are not to understand the Jewish talent, but the usual Attic 
talent, since only on this supposition does the comparison in value with 
the denarii, afterward essential to the parable, come clearly Out. An Attic 
talent equals 60 (Attic) minse, 1 mina equals 100 drachmae, a drachma being 
equivalent in trade to the Roman denarius j therefore, 1 talent equals 6,000 


218 


THEY WHO OWE THEIR PLACE , ETC. 


denarii. Of such talents, each one being equal to 6,000 denarii, the man owed 
not less than 10,000 (altogether equal to 45,000,000 marks, or ^2,250,000 ; 
others reckon somewhat less).” — Goebel. 

The reading el n, instead of on, in ver. 29, is now generally accepted. E 
from el/jLiy like if (gif) from give, here denotes certainty and not doubt. 
Comp., in Shakespeare, “If I stand here I saw him.” 


%\xz in tlic ilVincuarcl. 


































































X. 


glxc %ixhoxcxs in ±Txjc WineijaxxT. 


THE DISCIPLES WARNED OF THE APPROACHING CON- 
FLICT BETWEEN THE OPPOSING CLAIMS OF JEW AND 
GENTILE. 


For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a 
man that is an householder, which went out 
early in the morning to hire laborers into his 
vineyard. And when he had agreed with the 
laborers for a penny (denarius) a-day, he 
sent them into his vineyard. And he went 
out about the third hour, and saw others 
standing idle in the market-place, and said 
unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard, and 
whatsoever is right I will give you. And they 
went their way. Again he went out about the 
sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And 
about the eleventh hour he went out, and 
found others standing (idle), and saith unto 
them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? 
They say unto him, Because no man hath 
hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also 
into the vineyard ; and whatsoever is right, 
that shall ye receive. So when even was 
come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto 
his steward. Call the laborers, and give them 
their hire, beginning from the last unto the 


first. And when they came that were hired 
about the eleventh hour, they received every 
man a penny (denarius). But when the 
first came, they supposed that they should 
have received more ; and they likewise re- 
ceived every man a penny (denarius ) . And 
when they had received it, they murmured 
against the goodman of the house, saying, 
These last have wrought but one hour, and 
thou hast made them equal unto us, which 
have borne the burden and heat of the day. 
But he answered one of them, and said. 
Friend, I do thee no wrong : didst not thou 
agree with me for a penny (denarius) ? 
Take that thine is, and go thy way ; I will 
give unto the last, even as unto thee. Is it 
not lawful for me to do what I will with mine 
own? Is thine eye evil because I am good? 
So the last shall be first, and the first last (for 
many be called, but few chosen).— S. Matt. 
xx. 1-16. 


Bengel remarks upon the unfortunate division of chap- 
ters here. We must go back and take up the thread of 
the story, in order to secure the exact point of view 
from which to look at the laborers in the vineyard. It 


222 THE DISCIPLES WARNED OF THE APPROACHING 


would appear, then, that on the journey from Galilee to 
Jerusalem a young man, the ruler or president of some 
synagogue,* came to Jesus, desiring spiritual aid and in- 
struction. His question, “ What good thing shall I do to 
inherit eternal life ? ” proves him to have belonged to the 
party of the Pharisees. Jesus, as S. Mark tells us,t loved 
the young devotee, and answered him in a way calculated 
to call forth deeper thoughts on the whole subject of God 
and goodness. But, when it appeared that the young 
ruler was incapable of rising above the Pharisaic concep- 
tion of a mere legal righteousness, Jesus put him to the test, 
by telling him to go and sell all that he had and give to 
the poor, and come and follow Him. The surrender asked 
for was too great ; and the young man “ went away very 
sorrowful, for he was very rich.” It is a sad story ; and 
one that meets us over and over again in the holy gospels. 
Well might Jesus love the young man, for he was, doubt- 
less, from his many excellent moral qualities, worthy of 
being loved. But his righteousness was a legal righteous- 
ness,:]: and, as the event proved, cold and selfish at bottom. 
The world had possession of the young ruler’s heart, and 
there was neither the love of God nor of His creatures. 
They were in reality better off who, with greater imper- 
fections, and the consciousness of entire want of merit, 
thought not of winning heaven, but were glad to receive 
it as a gift. 

* See Olshausen in loc. | Mark x. 17. 

X John Smith (the Platonist) has a wonderful Discourse on Legal Right- 
eousness and on the Righteousness of Faith , in which reference is made to 
the case of this young man, p. 316. 


CONFLICT BETWEEN JEW AND GENTILE. 223 


It was an opportunity not to be lost, of saying some- 
thing to Peter and his fellow-disciples on the subject of 
the kingdom ; and more especially regarding the relation 
of the old dispensation and the economy of the law, to the 
new dispensation and the grace of the Gospel. A question 
of Peter furnished occasion for laying hold of the oppor- 
tunity presented by the Pharisaic self-righteousness of the 
young ruler. When Peter heard Jesus bewailing the loss 
of the young man, and saying, “ How hardly shall they 
that have riches enter the kingdom of heaven,” he was 
nerved to ask the Master, in view of the fact that he and 
his fellow-disciples had given up all for His sake, “ What 
shall we have therefore ? ” There is in the question a 
tinge of the legal view of the kingdom, and of the idea of 
recompense.* Notwithstanding, Jesus answers Peter as 
He did the young man, in accordance with the spirit in 
which the question was put. He tells him that whoso- 
ever has given up “ houses, or lands, or brethren,” for His 
sake and the Gospel’s, shall receive “manifold more in the 
present life, and in the world to come life everlasting” 
(chap. xix. 29). At the same time he takes occasion to 


* “This question betrayed an erroneous notion concerning future reward. 
It indicated a belief that it is due , as wages to human work. It was the lan- 
guage of one who would make a bargain with the householder for working 
in his vineyard. ‘ What shall we have therefore ? ’ It was a falling back 
from the Christian doctrine of justification by faith in Christ, represented by 
the trustful spirit of those laborers who went into the vineyard on an assur- 
ance from the householder that they would receive what was right (v. 4-7), 
and it was a recurrence to the Jewish notions of establishing their own right- 
eousness (Rom. x. 3), and of claiming the gift of heaven, not as a free gift 
of grace, but as a debt due to their own work.” — Wordsworth. 


224 THE DISCIPLES WARNED OF THE APPROACIIINC 


warn Peter and the rest of the Apostles against the legal 
spirit ; and the cherishing of envious or unkind feelings 
toward those who shall be called to enter into the king- 
dom at a much later period than themselves. 

There is to he an economy of grace, as well as an economy 
of servitude and long-continued labor ; and such as are 
privileged to belong to the later stage of the kingdom will, 
in reality , take precedence of those who lived under the ear- 
lier dispensation .* 

It will be observed that Jesus in all this is not discuss- 
ing abstract or theological questions ; nor is the way of 
dealing with individual souls the matter in hand ; but the 
fact that God at different times calls different peoples and 
nations and sets them to work in His kingdom. It is a 
simple matter of fact, as the parable goes on to declare, 
that God, at a very early period of the world’s history, 
called the Jews to labor in His vineyard ; and in so doing 
made a covenant or bargain with them, guaranteeing to 
them a certain stipulated reward ; it is also a matter of 
fact that He has, from time to time, called others, on very 
different terms, to labor in His vineyard. The Gentiles 

* “Peter was already tried, when he asked, ‘What shall we have there- 
fore ? ’ The Lord gives him now to understand that there will yet be an- 
other trial for you, my first-called disciple, when hereafter you will see how 
others will enter into the work, and beyond expectation will be blessed and 
rewarded by Me. Then beware of envy; be not jealous if I show myself 
gracious and liberal. Rather rejoice if I am bountiful to others. Then it 
will appear if you have labored in sincere love to Me. If this be not the case, 
if you feel insincere love to Me and to the brethren, if there be found on 
you a slavish feeling toward Me, and jealousy of your fellow-servants, it will 
be so much the worse for you. It will profit you little to have been the first 
called. ‘Many who are the first shall be last.’” — Thiersch. 


CONFLICT BETWEEN JEW AND GENTILE. 225 


have been called in a very different way from the Jews. 
In the one case it is the economy of the law with which 
we have to do ; in the other case it is the economy of 
grace. It is the very same question, it will be observed, 
with which S. Paul afterward deals, in a more abstract 
and theological way, in his Epistle to the Romans. Here 
Jesus does not argue the matter. It was not becoming in 
Him so to do. He states the question in an authoritative 
way, and for the sake of the disciples He strikes the 
needed note of warning. The time had not yet come — even 
the Twelve were not yet prepared — for any attempt at 
a logical solution of the relation between the law and the 
Gospel. It is enough for them to know that while they 
are among the first called, and have had consequently 
peculiar privileges secured to them, the divine plan in- 
volves arrangements of another and of a very different kind. 
They are to be on their guard, lest by the fostering of any- 
thing like a spirit of grumbling or discontent, as if their 
own especial claims were disregarded or set at naught, they 
set themselves in opposition to the divine purpose in the 
calling of others besides themselves to labor in the vine- 
yard.* It may seem strange to us, but it is nevertheless 

*“ Further, the Lord, the Great Prophet, gives His first disciples to 
understand that, after them other servants will yet assuredly receive a mis- 
sion from heaven. This was accomplished by anticipation when the holy 
Apostle S. Paul was sent forth. Without consulting the first laborers, with- 
out informing the holy Apostle Peter, Jesus Christ called his servant Paul, 
fitted him for his work, and sent him as an Apostle to the Gentiles. When 
Peter learned this it was not altogether easy for him to understand it, and it 
was a great mark of humility and love that Peter and James and John gave the 
right hand to Paul and Barnabas in token of fellowship. They thought, as 

J 7 


226 THE DISCIPLES WARNED OF THE APPROACHING 


true, as Reuss remarks,* that “ the idea never occurred to 
the first disciples of the faith that others, not Jews, might 
possibly enter their society.” “ It is also true,” as Reuss 
observes, “ that this is a point on which Jesus speaks with 
sublime wisdom and extreme reserve. He does not at- 
tempt to subvert convictions, and change the established 
order of things by trenchant words or abrupt innovations. 
He preferred to place side by side with the old institutions 
the vital and generative seeds of the new, and to leave it 
to time to develop the germ, and to familiarize men with 
that which at first could not but appear to them strange.” 
While Jesus then promises Peter and the rest of the 
Apostles that they shall be rewarded for their self-surren- 
der, and shall be made to sit upon twelve thrones, judg- 
ing the twelve tribes of Israel, He takes occasion at the 
same time to warn them that the end is not as near as 
they imagined. The divine plan contemplates not only 
the hiring of the Jews, but the ingathering of the Gentiles. 
There are yet many hours to the day. It will take a long 
and protracted effort, involving many and repeated calls 
to labor in the vineyard, before the nations are all gathered 
in. There is a third and a fourth and a sixth, and a ninth 
hour ; and even an eleventh hour, before the Messianic 
idea shall have reached its final consummation in the 
complete establishing of a kingdom of righteousness and 

humble followers of Jesus : now these are the laborers of a later hour, of whom 
the Lord in a parable spoke to us ; and they rejoiced without envy at the glori- 
ous success with which the Lord had blessed these servants.” — Thiersch. 

* History of Christian Theology in the Apostolic Age , vol. i., pp. 247, 
248. 


CONFLICT BETWEEN JEW AND GENTILE. 22 7 


peace upon earth. When that time does come they who 
are now first — the children of Abraham according to the 
flesh — shall then be accounted last ; and they who now are 
held in contempt — the outcast sinners of the Gentiles — 
shall then be reckoned as superior to the favored children 
of the Mosaic covenant. It is a broad question, and if 
we may so speak without irreverence, it is here treated in 
a way infinitely worthy of divine wisdom, revealing, and 
at the same time concealing, a most unwelcome truth. 

The first thing worthy of note in entering upon an ex- 
amination of the parable in detail is the choice of the 
image of the vineyard, and the notion of hire and labor in 
connection with it. The vineyard is a well-known Old 
Testament image of the kingdom (Isa. v. i) ; it differs 
from the notion of a royal marriage, or a great feast de- 
scriptive of gospel times, in setting forth the preparatory 
work necessary to be done before the feast can be pre- 
pared, or the bridegroom come to take possession of his 
inheritance. Vineyard labor is hard labor ; but it must be 
done if there is to be a garden enclosed, and wine for the 
feast when the bridegroom comes to take to himself the 
bride. It is in this preparatory sense that the Jewish 
economy is to be regarded as part and parcel of the king- 
dom. It did the work necessary to be done in preparing 
the ground, and in taking care of the vine, which in due 
process of time is to be transplanted, and is to grow and 
flourish in other soils. It will be noted, also, that the 
image of the “ householder,” like that of the “vineyard ” it- 
self, differs widely from the “ bridegroom,” and the “ king” 


228 THE DISCIPLES WARNED OF THE APPROACHING 


of the later parables. It is chosen with a view to describe 
the educational process* necessary in the preparatory 
stage of the kingdom. God calls laborers to work in the 
vineyard, not because He needs them, but, as the parable 
intimates, because He desires to interest them in the work, 
and so gradually train and educate them for ministering 
to others. When it is said, then, that the “ householder 
went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his 
vineyard,” we are to understand that the preparation for 
the kingdom began early. It was apua 7rpcoi,j- at break of 
day, directly at sunrise, that the householder began to 
prepare for the coming of Christ, and the advent of the 
kingdom. It is carefully noted in the parable that with 
the first hired there was a positive agreement entered into 
regarding the amount of wages they were to receive ; 
whereas in the case of the later called there was no posi- 
tive bargain made. We have thus laid, at the very outset, 
a distinction between the earlier and the later stages of the 
kingdom. The Jewish economy was a covenant of works, 
whereas the Gentile economy is a thing of promise and of 
grace. It was not enough, it seems, for the householder to 
go out at early morn ; he is represented as going out, again 
and again, during the whole of the hours of the day till 
eventide.;): “ An unusual proceeding,” as Goebel observes, 
“ which shows that his chief thought was not simply the 


* On this whole subject consult Mosley’s Ruling Ideas in Early Ages. 

| “a^a = una cum stands as a preposition before vpwt, as in Actsxxviii. 23, 
the preposition a7ro.” — G oebel. 

\ The Parables of Jesus , p. 303. 


CONFLICT BETWEEN JEW AND GENTILE. 229 


amount of work to be done, but the putting of as great a 
number as possible of the unemployed to labor in his ser- 
vice, and the doing of everything in his power to prevent 
anyone remaining idle whilst he had work enough for 
all” 

In the going forth of the householder at the “ third ” 
and the “ sixth ” and the “ ninth ” hours of the day to hire 
other laborers into the vineyard, the basis is laid in the 
parable for setting aside the exclusive claims of the Jews. 
No reason is given for adding to the number of the first 
called, save that in going forth from time to time the 
householder found men r ‘ standing idle in the market- 
place.” The intimation is sufficient to suggest that it 
was an act of grace on the part of the householder, and 
not forced on him by necessity, through the possible failure 
of the first called to do their work. The way, in other 
words, is being prepared to make it clear that, if there be 
a dispensation of law there is also to be a dispensation of 
grace. The “ idlers in the market-place” stand in marked 
contrast with the busy workers enclosed within the vine- 
yard. It is their misfortune that they are “ idlers,” while 
the fact of their congregating in the market-place is a sign 
that they are ready and willing to go to work. And it is 
noteworthy that in the ages all along, we find God calling 
at different times this one and that one from without, and 
setting them to work in His vineyard. Cyrus is a notable 
example of this. Provision also was made for proselytes 
of the gate. In every age we have persons introduced from 
without, as if to prevent the absolute claims of the Jew. 


230 THE DISCIPLES WARNED OF THE APPROACHING 


It is not necessary that, with the early fathers of the 
Church, we give a special designation to the several hours, 
or to regard them as following each another in succession, 
as representing different stages of the divine economy. 
The object in making mention of the third and sixth 
and ninth, as well as the eleventh hour, would seem to be 
rather to leave the impression on the minds of the dis- 
ciples that the times for the complete ingathering of the 
Gentiles is yet very far off. The hours correspond to dif- 
ferent epochs in the world’s history, and bring to light the 
truth that God orders the events of providence outward- 
ly with a view to the bringing of all nations at the last 
into his vineyard (Eph. i. 22, 23). 

But this more general truth (as the mere mention of 
the third, sixth, and ninth hours indicates) is only touched 
upon for the sake of the particular application of it, which 
it is the great aim of the parable to enforce. The hours 
practically resolve themselves into two — the first and the 
last — the one characterized by the agreement entered into ; 
the other, by the absence of anything like a bargain, and 
the implicit trust of the laborers in the fair-dealing of the 
householder. The object is to substitute gradually the 
principle of faith for the principle of recompense , and to 
place the one in a position of favorable contrast over 
against the other. 

It is the mistake of Goebel, in his treatment of this 
parable, that he is disposed to regard it not as a picture, 
with its lights and shadows, and its peculiar arrangements 
for giving prominence to special features, placing them in 


CONFLICT BETWEEN JEW AND GENTILE . 23 1 


the foreground, but as a thing to be subjected to strict 
logical analysis. The same mistake is made by the com- 
mentators generally. They forget that parables are pict- 
ures, and as such appeal to the spiritual faculty and the 
imagination, rather than to the reason and the logical 
faculty. They suggest rather than reveal. This is em- 
phatically true of the present parable. There does not 
seem at first sight much difference between a bargain and 
a promise, between saying I will pay you so much, and I 
shall pay you “ what is right ; ” but it is just in such in- 
cidental features (artistically arranged) that we see the 
genius of the true artist, and his power of making an im- 
pression by way of suggestion, rather than by open and 
undisguised representation. Our whole attention is now 
purposely fixed upon the last called, and the eleventh 
hour. It is only a single hour ; notwithstanding, the 
householder calls those who have not yet been hired, and 
sets them to work, just as much as if there were twelve 
hours’ work to be done. The parable, in other words, 
goes on, by effect after effect, to magnify the graciousness 
and goodness of the householder : and it does this to pre- 
pare us for the sake of the contrast, soon to be brought to 
light, in the grudging and grumbling spirit of the first 
called. We are beginning, more and more, to feel that 
the parable is leading us in the direction of free grace. 
“ It sets forth in the sharpest contrast the difference be- 
tween grace, which must be a gift, and wages, which are 
earned.” It is a parable setting forth the chief aspect of 
the new kingdom, as being a kingdom of grace, in which 


232 THE DISCIPLES WARNED OF THE APPROACHING 


a man, even though he works, does not earn, but receives 
as a gift ; so that he cannot say, “ What shall I have ? ” 
but must throw himself upon the goodness of the master, 

“Not with hope of gaining ought, 

Nor seeking a reward, 

But as Thyself has loved me, 

Thou ever-loving Lord.” 

“ The mode of teaching,” as the author from whom we 
have just quoted observes, “ is the same as that which is 
constantly adopted by our Lord, viz., by some very start- 
ling analogy, or contrast, or even difficulty, to fix our at- 
tention upon one thing, at one time ; not to distract us by 
setting forth some truth, and then going on to mention 
the limitations under which it is to be accepted, and the 
conditions under which it is true ; but to set forth some 
one thing very pointedly, very nakedly, very unreservedly, 
and at other times, and on other occasions, to mention the 
countertruths as they are called.”* If, with Lachmann 
and Tischendorf, and the editors of the text of the Re- 
vised Version, we omit the phrase, “ whatsoever is right, 
that shall ye receive,” in the case of the called at the 
eleventh hour, it will make the idea of grace still more 
marked ; there is no thought of reward at all, only glad- 
ness to be set to work. 

With the call at eventide for the laborers to come and 
receive their pay, the second part of the narrative begins. 
“ So when even was come , the lord of the vineyard saith 


* Sadler in loc. 


CONFLICT BETWEEN- JEW AND GENTILE . 233 


unto his steward , Call the laborers , <2;^ give them their hire , 
beginning from the last unto the first.” The evening here, 
as Goebel, in opposition to Meyer, observes, is the close of 
the Messianic or the mediatorial dispensation. This is 
manifest from the mention of the “ steward,” to whom is 
assigned the paying of the laborers their hire. “ The 
Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment 
unto the Son ! ” In the command given to begin with the 
last, and not the first, we have another of those incidental 
references which is such a marked feature of the parable, 
thrown in with a view to suggest the superiority of the 
dispensation of grace over the economy of the law. Dr. 
Bruce * pleads, and rightly, for the moral significance of the 
act. “What,” he asks, “ could be the motive of the house- 
holder in giving such a command, “ but a desire to mani- 
fest a special interest in those who, having come into the 
vineyard at the close of the day, must have cherished very 
humble expectations as to what they were to receive, 
although they had done their best during their one hour 
of work to show their grateful appreciation of the master’s 
kindness. And if this was indeed his motive, then the ac- 
tion was not so insignificant as some would have us be- 
lieve. In itself to be paid first was a small advantage to 
the last hired ; too small to bear the chief stress in the 
illustration of the principle : the last first and the first last. 
But the paying of the last was a very significant circum- 
stance, as an index of the master's mind , for in that con- 
nection we have not only to consider the action itself, but 
* The Parabolic Teachings of Christ , p. 190. 


234 the disciples warned of the approaching 


what it may lead to.” But the magnanimity and gener- 
osity of the householder is proved not only by the con- 
sideration manifested toward those who were without legal 
claim, but still more in the fact that he did not permit the 
lateness of the call to militate against their receiving a full 
day’s pay. It was not their fault that they were not put 
earlier to work. Why then should they be called upon to 
suffer? True, the householder might have pleaded to the 
contrary. But he does not. And because he does not, he 
makes it plain that the law of contract, so far from being 
the rule of his working was, in reality, the exception. 
It takes place only in one case out of five. It is in reality 
the exception to the rule. If the case of the called at the 
third and sixth and ninth hours is not brought promi- 
nently forward, it is because the generosity shown to the 
called at the eleventh hour more than covers their de- 
mands. This is a feature of the parable which has not 
received the attention it deserves. The assumption that 
because a positive contract was made with one class of 
laborers, we are therefore to expect the same in every case 
is proved to be a false assumption. The whole plan (for 
the parable has do with the divine plan, and not with the 
case of individuals) is so arranged as to provide for the ex- 
hibition of grace and goodness, as well as for the exercise 
of justice. Justice comes first, but goodness follows after; 
as always the case, mercy and goodness triumph over 
justice. 

“ But when the first came they supposed that they should 
have received more ; and they likezvise received every man 


CONFLICT BETWEEN JEW AND GENTILE. 235 


a penny? What right had the first called to suppose that 
they would receive more than the stipulated reward ? The 
reason is suggested, although not positively stated. They 
compared themselves with others, and they did not permit 
themselves to think only of the goodness of the house- 
holder in calling them to the work, and of the full meas- 
ure of his reward. It is the aim of the parable to make it 
clear that the mere fact of economic arrangement will 
make no difference with the ultimate result. The Jew 
will gain nothing by belonging to the economy of the law; 
and the Gentile will lose nothing by belonging to the 
economy of grace. The difference of economy is entirely * 
a matter of divine arrangement. The Gentile loses noth- 
ing from not being the first called ; the Jew gains nothing 
by belonging to the earlier stage of the divine economy. 
Whatever the nature of the temporal relation it will not 
affect the ultimate result. God will treat Jew and Gen- 
tile alike. But while the parable emphasizes this truth by 
saying that “ when they came that were hired about the 
eleventh hour, they received every man a penny;” and 
“ when the first came,” “ they likewise received every man 
a penny” — occasion is taken to lay bare the emptiness of 
Pharisaic righteousness. The Jews held not only that a 
man of his own motion could keep the law, but that he 
could do more than the law positively required of him. 
When Jesus reminded the young ruler that there is only 
One absolutely good, it was with a view to cut away 
from under his feet the whole foundation of legal con- 
formity on which his view of doing good was based. And 


236 THE DISCIPLES WARNED OF THE APPROACHING 


so now, when we are told that the first called thought they 
should have received more than what was due unto them, 
it is with a view to suggest that their standard of obliga- 
tion was a false standard. It arose out of the fact that 
they compared themselves with others, and not by the rule 
of their positive obligation. 

But more : when those who were first called did receive 
their pay, “ they murmured against the goodman of the 
house , saying , These last have wrought hut one hour , and 
thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the 
burden and heat of the day .” There is a fine irony in 
these words. The Jews by their very complaint of being 
compelled to bear the burden and heat of the day are 
made to condemn themselves. They bear witness to the 
perfection of the law and their inability to meet its de- 
mands, while they are claiming “ more ” than they were 
to receive. “ Religion pressed hardly upon the Jews,” 
Dr. Newman says, “ because they were unequal to it (ver. 
12), and it was as the mid-day heat , overpowering them 
with intensity, because they had no protection against it. 
This was the burden and heat of the day, to have a per- 
fect law and an unregenerate heart ; the thunder of Sinai, 
yet the sovereignty of the flesh ; Moses with the two 
tables of stone, and the people setting up the golden calf 
(S. Matt. xi. 28 ; Acts xv. 10 ; Rom. vii. 24).” 

The parable, in its concluding and last part, brings out 
with marked emphasis the doctrine of grace in opposi- 
tion to the notion of a Pharisaic and legal righteousness. 


CONFLICT BETWEEN JEW AND GENTILE. 237 


When the Jew objects to the Gentile being put on an 
equal footing with himself, on the ground that he had the 
harder time of it, he gets for an answer the answer he de- 
serves. It is a civil answer, and at the same time a dis- 
charge from the service which had proved so irksome. 
The master of the house reminds him of the terms of the 
agreement, “ didst thou not agree with me for a penny ? ” 
What more could anyone ask than that they should get 
all they had bargained for? Much (and as it seems to us 
unnecessary and idle) dispute has arisen over the meaning 
of the penny. The parties on both sides, who at other 
times are ready to urge that we must not press every de- 
tail of a parable, would seem here to ignore the applica- 
tion of their own principle out of fondness for theologi- 
cal wrangle. It is surely enough to say, then, that the 
“ penny ” represents neither more nor less than the fact 
that whatever be the temporal advantages or disadvan- 
tages connected with the call of nations and peoples to 
take part in the furtherance and establishment of the king- 
dom, it will not in any way affect the final result. The 
reward may be of law, or the reward may be of grace, but 
it is in the end the same reward. The Jew believed in 
Christ to come, and his legal discipline was with a view to 
prepare him for receiving Him ; the Gentile got as a gift 
of grace what the Jew strove after under the law: but the 
grace given did not release the Gentile from the effort to 
retain what had been freely bestowed on him as a gift : in 
either case there was moral responsibility involved, and 
faithfulness to the trust committed secured the same re- 


238 THE DISCIPLES WARNED OF THE APPROACHING 


ward. The Gentile, undoubtedly, in being last called, had 
a temporary advantage over the Jew: but it still remained 
to be determined whether he would use or abuse his privi- 
leges, and what, in the end, would be the final award. 
More than this the parable does not say. If we will place 
ourselves at the point of view from which the kingdom is 
here contemplated, it will be seen that the question^ with 
which our Lord is dealing is the economic question of the 
call of nations and peoples to labor in the vineyard,* and if 
so, it has in reality nothing to do with the relation of the 
individual to the life that is to come. “ Nations,” as Mar- 
tensen observes, “ are called and chosen of God,” + as well 
as individuals; but it cannot be said of nations, as such, 
that they will inherit everlasting life. They will be judged, 
indeed, for their faithfulness and for their unfaithfulness; 
but the judgment in such a case falls within the sphere of 
the temporal, and does not embrace the eternal. We are 
not to force the dramatic element in the parable, as Goe- 
bel suggests, to the extent of a bald literalness. The con- 
versation held here with the Jew is an imaginary conver- 
sation, and is not intended to do more than to lay bare 
the secret working of the Jewish mind, and expose the 
hidden motives of the leaders of the Theocrary in their 
dealings with the Gentiles. The expression, “ Take that 
thine is and go thy way” may be regarded as an acknowl- 


* The penny ( denarius ) in the parable represents neither more nor less 
than the law of recompense ; but it is one thing to make the recompense an 
end, and another to receive it as a gift of grace, 
f Christian Dogmatics , pp. 369-375. 


CONFLICT BETWEEN JEW AND GENTILE . 239 


edgment of the Jewish claims, just as S. Paul acknowl- 
edges them. Judaism, it is never to be forgotten, had its 
mission and its value, so far as “ the sanctifying of the 
flesh ” was concerned. The Jew, undoubtedly, in a moral 
point of view, was the superior of the Gentile, but his 
claim went no further. He had no more right or title to 
the gift of grace than the Gentile had. If he will demand 
the rewards of a legal righteousness he can have them : he 
has had them. But the assertion of such a claim is in itself 
a forfeiture of grace, and that would seem to be what is 
meant when it is said, “ go thy way.” Luther expresses it 
in a coarse way, but with some appreciation of the truth 
involved. It is true, as a matter of fact, that the cause of 
the rejection of the Jews was the very assertion of their 
legal claim. They are being warned, and mercifully 
warned; and it is intimated that if trouble should here- 
after arise because of the admission of the Gentiles into 
the Church, the ground of it will be the “ evil eye,” and 
the jealousy of the Jew at seeing others admitted to equal 
privileges with himself. Along with the rebuke to the 
Jew, there is a notable assertion of the divine sovereignty : 
“ It is my will to give unto this last , even as unto thee. Is 
it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own ? ” 
It is the assertion in the most emphatic terms of the great 
fundamental principle of free grace. 

The parable ends, as it began, with the repetition of the 
saying, “ so the last shall be first , and the first last I The 
introduction of the article is not without significance. The 
whole aim of the parable is to discriminate between two 


240 THE DISCIPLES WARNED OF THE APPROACHING 


classes of man, the Jews and the Gentiles. It is ever to 
be remembered that the calling of the Gentiles “was, 
next to the great fact of Redemption in the Death and 
Resurrection, the great event of the New Testament. It 
was the greatest change in the dealings of God with man 
that had occurred for two thousand years. A special Apos- 
tle was raised up to carry out thoroughly what it involved. 
But it was received by the chosen people — those who 
might be said to have been in the vineyard of God for the 
twelve hours — with the greatest repugnance. The book 
of the Acts, and the Epistles, are all full of their complaint, 
‘ Thou hast made them equal unto us.’ And looked at 
from a mere human standpoint, judged by the mere feel- 
ings and prejudices of the natural man, gauged by the 
spirit which prompted one of them to ask, ‘ We have for- 
saken all : what shall we have ? ’ they had reason to 
complain, for God seemed to be casting them off, and 
depriving them of their proud position, after they had 
for several centuries been very jealous for His unity, and 
the strict observance of His law, arid the keeping of the 
Sabbath, and the worship of His temple. Taking the 
view of the teachings of the Old Testament, which most 
men would naturally do, it seemed to guarantee the chil- 
dren of Abraham the possession of their exclusive privi- 
leges forever, at least to the end of the world. Was not 
the covenant of Abraham to be in his flesh, 1 for an 
everlasting covenant’ (Gen. xvii. 13)? Was not Jacob 
God’s elect, His chosen (Ps. cv. 6) ? Was not the law 
given on Sinai to be eternally binding on all men ? If 


CONFLICT BETWEEN JEW AND GENTILE. 24 1 


6 the sons of the stranger ’ were to be joined to the 
Lord, was it not by the same covenant and under the 
same conditions as the chosen people (Isaiah lvi. 7) ? 
Their murmuring and discontent, then, was natural ; any 
other nation, if they had been in the same position of 
having been for two thousand years the possessors of ex- 
clusive rights, would have been equally aggrieved ; but 
this was its very evil, that it was natural. It was mur- 
muring and repining which sprang from envy, engendered 
by self-seeking — always asking * what shall we have ? 5 
rather than ‘ what shall we give ? ’ And this is one of 
the worst outcomes of our evil nature. The envy of the 
Jewish election is one of the most prominent features in the 
latter part of the New Testament. It is ever recurring in 
some shape or another. The thought of it appears to have 
set the Jews against Christianity far more than the preach- 
ing of the Crucified. It is the literal description of their 
disposition and feelings to say that 4 their eye was evil be- 
cause God was good.’ So that it is not at all unlikely 
that, in the face of this, our Lord, in this parable, prepares 
His disciples and other hearers for this murmuring, and 
gives them the only way of meeting it, viz., by the thought 
that salvation is to be henceforth no longer regarded as 
wages, but as gift.”* The ordinary and popular applica- 
tion of the parable to the called at the eleventh hour is not 
to be ranked as an interpretation of the parable, but as a 
perversion of its whole drift and teaching. 

* Sadler. 


16 


242 CONFLICT BETWEEN JEW AND GENTILE. 


NOTES. 

Ver. 2. — In the phrase e/c Srjvapiov t)]v r)/j.epau, the e’/c, as Meyer observes, 
“ signifies not the price (which would be expressed by the genitive, ver. 13), 
although the denary is the price, but it represents the price as the causal 
feature or motive of the agreement.” The first laborers were hired for a 
day, and the amount of remuneration was not only fixed, but served as their 
motive (e/c) ; while in the case of the next-mentioned all that was promised 
them was an equitable acknowledgment of their services, and in the case of 
the last called, according to the best accredited readings (ver. 7), no promise 
at all was given. All this was manifestly designed to give effect to the con- 
trast between the economy of the law and the dispensation of the Gospel. 
The denaritis was equivalent to about fifteen cents of our money, and if we 
take into account the difference in the value of money, it would be equal to 
about half a dollar now. 

Ver. 3. — The Jews adopted the division of the day into hours during their 
residence in Babylon. Before that time they reckoned the day from sunset 
to sunset ; and it was divided into morning, noon, evening, and a twofold 
twilight. The division into hours was gradually introduced. The third hour 
would be about our nine o’clock, when the market would be full of people. 
The attempt of Vitringa to apply the different hours to distinct historical 
events, making the early morning = Adam ; the third hour = Abraham ; 
the sixth hour = Moses ; the ninth hour = to the period of John Hyrcanus, 
when the Edomites became converts to Judaism ; and the eleventh hour = 
the time of Christ, sacrifices the pictorial to the real, and is of that kind of 
logical treatment which is foreign to the whole scope of our Lord’s para- 
bolical teaching. Origen, Hilary, and S. Gregory have something of the 
same kind, but not reduced, as in Vitringa, to a system. 

Ver. 6. — * Apyovs (idle) is wanting in Cod. B., C., D., L., and Cod. 
Sinait., and would seem to have been inserted from ver. 3. 

Ver. 7. — The clause : /cal '6 iav ?j tiltccuot/ XtyeaBe is omitted in the oldest 
MSS., and in the Vulgate ; but is in both Peshito and Cureton Syriac. 
Lachmann, Tischendorf, Tregelles, and Wescott and Hort reject it. 

Ver. 16. — The concluding words, ir oXkol y dp elcriv kXtjtoI, oklyoi 8e e’/cAe/cTof, 
are not in B., L., T., and Cod. Sinait. j but are found in C., D., in Vulgate 
and Peshito and Cureton Syriac, 


^potogetic garatrtes: 

ADDRESSED TO THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND 
ELDERS. 


I. gto Mmz. 

II. glxe Witched ^xnc^xcszzxz, 
in. gcjxje %lX'xxxmQc- c geast ami tlxc Rejected (Gxxcst. 








APOLOGETIC PARABLES. 


Our Lord Himself, in His answer to the question of 
the high-priests and elders, when they asked Him for His 
credentials for doing and teaching as He did, furnishes us 
with the true key to the interpretation of The Two Sons, 
The Wicked Vine-dressers, and The Marriage-feast. He 
replies to the question regarding His authority by saying 
that He, too, will ask “ a single question ; ” and if His ad- 
versaries will answer it, then He will tell them by what 
authority He claimed to do as He did. He is acting on the 
defensive. In giving a reason, as He now proposes to do, 
for the claims He asserts, He puts his opposers at the same 
time on the defensive, and exposes before the people their 
utter insincerity and the malice which had prompted their 
inquiry. He knew full well their secret motive in putting 
the question they did. They would make His driving of 
the buyers and sellers out of the temple an occasion for 
getting Him openly to declare Himself, and so they would 
excite popular prejudice against Him. But He knew their 
hearts. He was better acquainted, than they themselves 
were, with their secret purposes. He will not lend Him- 
self, then, to their crafty schemes, by answering them di- 
rectly. At the same time He will answer them ; and that, 
too, in such a way as to make themselves testify to His 
authority, and out of their own mouths declare the base^ 
ness of the murderous intent that lies deep concealed 
within their secret hearts. We shall best enter into the 
spirit of this third series of parables if we regard them in 


246 


APOLOGETIC PARABLES. 


the light of an apology ( aaroko^Ld ), or defence, in which 
our Lord undertakes to prove that the leaders of the 
people were inspired by a spirit of pride and love of 
power in their conduct toward Him ; and it was because 
the whole nation was drowned in love of ease and worldly 
enjoyment that they were ready to second their murder- 
ous project to give over to the death One they could not 
deny to be God’s accredited messenger. 

The first of these charges He makes good by reminding 
the Scribes and Pharisees, and the representatives of the 
hierarchical party, of their treatment of John 
th^TwosZns 6 . 0 ^ the Baptist, who came as the living embodi- 
ment of the spirit of the law, and yet they 
would not receive him. Their self-righteousness would not 
let them confess that they were sinners, and needed repent- 
ance. The publicans and harlots were able to see in John 
a divine messenger, and received baptism accordingly at his 
hands; but the chief priests and elders thought it too much 
of an indignity to follow in their train. John was of their 
own “ way of righteousness ” (using the term way as it is 
often used in the New Testament, in the sense of a religion). 
Why, then, did they not receive him ? It was a question 
his enemies dare not answer, for they feared the people, 
and the people believed John to be a prophet. But John 
was not only a prophet, he was also the accredited fore- 
runner of the Man whose authority they were disposed to 
call in question, and bore witness to Him as the Sent of 
God. No more need be said. 

The second charge, of love of power and aggrandize- 
ment, Jesus proves by the parable of the Wicked Vine- 
dressers. It was because His claims were in opposition to 
their claims that the chief priests and elders hated Him, 
and were engaged in plotting against Him. Instead of be- 


APOLOGETIC PARABLES. 


247 


ing willing to render to the householder, who had put 
them in possession, the fruits of the vineyard, they had 
come to regard what had been placed in 
vEie- dr ess^s. their trust for others as their own property ; 

they cannot bring themselves to resign the 
power which they have so long used to their own advan- 
tage into the hands of the lawful heir, when he comes to 
claim it in his father’s name. In all this they have done 
as their progenitors had done before them. They killed 
the servants ; it is only left for their successors to kill the 
son, and seize upon the inheritance. 

The third charge, against the nation at large, is sustained 
by the utter indifference with which the Jews as a people 
had treated the repeated calls made upon 
feast, M and l< the~ them to cast aside their money-making and 

Guest without a . f . . . . . . 

Wedding-gar- love ol domestic ease, and consecrate them- 
selves to the mission which God had set be- 
fore them. Their own prophets had foretold, if they 
would only listen to the voices of the past, that the aim 
of God in the founding of the Theocracy was to raise His 
own Son to the seat of the world’s power, and in Him to 
establish a reign of righteousness over the whole earth. 
The day had at length come for the bridal of earth and 
sky, but it brought with it no sense of rejoicing to hearts 
made callous by love of worldly gain, and incapable, in 
consequence, of entering into the joy which the new era of 
sacramental communion and fellowship with God was to 
bring to the sons of men. 

There are none of our Lord’s parables, it will be seen, 
which touched with such consummate art the distinctive 
characteristics of the divine dispensation as we find ex- 
hibited here. John the Baptist, in his mission and work, 
is the type of the prophetical calling; he stands midway, 


248 


APOLOGETIC PA TABLES. 


so to speak, between the law and the Gospel. His voca- 
tion is to preach the doctrine of repentance, as the door 
of entrance into the kingdom of heaven. The law was 
given to convince men of sin. It was the duty of the 
prophet to enforce the demands of the law, and so pre- 
pare men for the mercy offered to them under the Gos- 
pel. 

In the Householder and the Laborers in the Vineyard, as 
contrasted with the King making a Marriage for his Son, 
we have represented in a living way the fundamental dif- 
ference between the work given to the Jews in preparing 
the way for Christ, and the royalty which manifests itself 
in bestowing grace, after the Eternal Son takes human 
nature into union with Himself, and calls the world to re- 
joice with Him in celebrating the marriage-feast. “This 
appearance of the householder as the king, announces that 
the sphere in which the parable moves is the New Testa- 
ment dispensation — is the kingdom, which was announced 
before, but was only actually present with the coming of 
the king. That last was a parable of the old Testament 
history; even Christ Himself appears there rather as the 
last and greatest of the line of its prophets and teachers 
than as the founder of a new kingdom. In that, a parable 
of the law, God appears demanding something from men ; 
in this, a parable of grace, God appears more as giving 
something to them. There, He is displeased that His 
demands are not complied with ; here, that His goodness 
is not accepted; there, He requires; here, He imparts. 
And thus, as we often find, the two mutually complete 
one another ; this taking up the matter where the other 
left it.” * 

* Trench, Notes on the Parables , p. 180. 


XI. 


JClXC ^WJO S>01XS. 






XL 




THE LEADERS OF THE THEOCRACY CHARGED WITH 
HYPOCRISY AND INSINCERITY. 

But what think ye? A certain man had said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that the 
two sons ; and he came to the first, and said, publicans and harlots go into the kingdom of 
Son, go work to-day in my vineyard. He God before you. For John came unto you 
answered and said, I will not ; but afterward in the way of righteousness, and ye believed 
he repented, and went And he came to the him not ; but the publicans and harlots be- 
second (other), and said likewise. And he lieved him ; and ye, when ye had seen it, re- 
answered and said, I go, sir ; and went not. pented not afterward, that ye might believe 
Whether of them twain did the will of his him. — S. Matt. xxi. 28-32. 
father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus 

As combatants, before entering on the fight, are accus- 
tomed to make thrusts with a view of testing each other’s 
strength and skill, so do Jesus and His deadly enemies 
enter upon the struggle on which momentous issues hang. 
The driving of the buyers and sellers out of the temple 
was an overt act which the Pharisees and the high-priests 
were only too glad to seize upon, to find matter of accusa- 
tion against the man whose death they had long deter- 
mined upon. They will raise the question of authority ! 
What authority has He for such a breach of the rights of 
the delegated representatives of the Sanhedrim ? Who 
gave Him this authority ? It was an opportunity not to 
be lost to expose the hypocrisy of the men who, in the 


252 


THE LEADERS OF THE THEOCRACY 


abuse of their trust, were neither more nor less than “blind 
leaders of the blind.” In answer to their question Jesus 
puts another ; and He will content Himself with one 
(\6yov eva) : — “ The baptism of John , was it from heaven 
or of men ? ” They were on the horns of a dilemma and 
they dare not answer. If they said “ of men,” they feared 
the people, for all men acknowledged John to be a true 
prophet. If they said “ from heaven : ” then why did they 
not receive Him to whom John bore witness ? They were 
proved to be hypocrites then. They feared men more than 
God. With such it was not necessary to enter further 
upon the question of authority. They had made the issue ; 
they must bear the consequences. Jesus now will ques- 
tion, and they will answer. 

U A man had two sons .” Note the point of departure. 
Before entering upon other questions Jesus starts with 
the assertion of the broad principle of the philanthropy of 
God. The publican, if he be a sinner, is still a “son.” 
The harlot, though fallen, bears “ a sister’s shame.” Nor 
let us make light of the illustration, as if the comparison 
of the divine and the human here were a mere figure of 
speech. God makes Himself known to men in many ways. 
He manifests Himself in nature as power. The order of 
nature bears witness to the great law of recompense as the 
law of God. There is no escaping the consequences of 
our actions ; as we sow, we must also reap. Again, God 
manifests himself in the conscience and the moral law of 
the ten commandments. He is a holy God : a God of 
justice and of truth. The clean cannot dwell with the 


CHARGED WITH HYPOCRISY AND INSINCERITY. 253 

unclean ; the pure with the double-hearted, and the wor- 
shipper of idols. But God reveals Himself also in the 
moral relations, which underlie the whole complex organi- 
zation of human society. Society rests on God, because 
God manifests Himself to men in the institutions which 
lie at the foundations of all social life. A father in his 
sphere is the representative of God ; he is to be honored 
and worshipped because he is the bearer of the divine 
name. A magistrate on the bench is the representative of 
God ; and he does not bear the sword in vain. To both 
father and judge the Holy Scriptures give the name of 
gods (Elohim), because God has put His name and a por- 
tion of His glory upon them. The law, whatever its rigor, 
then, must be tempered with mercy. Righteousness, in 
the broader and scriptural meaning of the word, includes 
acts of benevolence and kindness, as well as justice and 
truth. Whatever the other relationships which God bears 
to His creatures, they are of a temporary and economical 
kind ; but the relation of Fatherhood is universal and fun- 
damental. It is for this reason, then, that the mere “ ma- 
terial fact of sin,” * is not to be regarded as an insurmount- 
able barrier to the kingdom of heaven. It may justify 
exclusion for a time, until it is openly acknowledged and 
confessed ; but this done — “ only let there be no imaginary 
assumption of virtue ” — and the arms of the divine love 
are open to receive the- returning sinner. 

It is not without meaning that, in introducing the two 
sons, Jesus puts the erring one first, and not the self- 

* Reuss. 


254 


THE LEA DEES OF THE THEOCRACY 


righteous. It is a blind criticism which, on the authority 
of some Manuscripts, would alter the text here, and put the 
self-righteous first. Jesus places the repentant sinner first, 
for the reason that repentance is better than self-righteous- 
ness ; and because the question of the substitution of the 
erring and the outcast , in the place of the hypocritical and 
self-righteous, is the great argument with which the whole 
series of parables, to which this stands in the place of an 
introduction, have more especially to do. 

When it was said to the “first” “ Son, go work to-day in 
my vineyard, he answered and said, I will not ; but after- 
ward he repented and went : ” it is plain that the parties, 
represented by the two sons respectively are not, as the 
earlier interpreters are inclined to teach, the Jews and Gen- 
tiles, but the two classes of the sinners and the self-right- 
eous among the Jewish people. Up to this time it could 
not with truth be said that the Gentiles had been called to 
work “ in the vineyard.” The vineyard uniformly repre- 
sents, both in the Old Testament and in the New, “ the 
house of Israel.” The call spoken of in the text is the 
call of John the Baptist, who came to summon the people 
to go to work in the Lord’s vineyard, and to bring forth 
in their lives “ the fruits of repentance.” Edersheim calls 
attention to the word here translated repent ( ixeraiieXeLa ), 
as not the same as that used in S. Matt. iii. 2. It is not 
change of heart that is meant, but change of purpose. It 
is the first movement toward a return to a right state of 
mind, but whether it will ultimately result in complete 
conversion (/ xeravoca ) depends on other things. 


CHARGED WITH HYPOCRISY AND INSINCERITY. 255 


The other son answered readily at once, /, sir! — and 
he did not go. Every word is significant. The “ I,” as 
in the case of the rich man, attests the self-satisfied, self- 
confident spirit of Pharisaism. The Pharisees were Pe- 
lagians at heart. It was one of their ‘‘articles of faith,” 
as Maimonides* tells us, that “the power of free-will is 
given to every man to turn himself, if he will, to that 
which is good, and to be good; or to turn himself to that 
which is evil, and to be wicked, if he will.” The “sir” 
(tcvpie) is the outward lip-service, which contents itself 
with saying, “ Lord, Lord,” but does not do the things 
which the Lord commands to be done. 

Now comes the question, “ Which of the two did the 
will of his father ?” The thing implied, but not so far 
uttered, is spoken at last. God is the Father of the un- 
just, as well as of the just. Before Him all stand upon 
an equal footing, since “ he charges even his angels with 
folly,” and the “ very heavens are not clean in his sight.” 
It is not that Lie is indifferent to the evil and to the good. 
But the thing which He requires, as the parable in its ar- 
rangement and structure sets so prominently forth, is re- 
pentance. Repentance is the one absolute condition of 
entrance into the kingdom of heaven. It was this John 
the Baptist preached ; and to this the Pharisees are now 
themselves compelled indirectly to assent, when, in answer 
to the question so forcibly pressed upon them, they are 
constrained to say, “ The first.” First, and yet a peni- 
tent ! Even so. The transcribers of the original text 
* Yad Chazakah, Tract, de Pceniten cap. 5, ad init. 


256 


THE LEA DEES OF THE THEOCRACY 


would appear to have found it as hard as the ancient Jew- 
ish Scribes to receive it ; and have suggested, not less than 
three different readings, accordingly. But as Wordsworth, 
in opposition to the ingenious arguments of Tregelles, says, 
the reading of the Authorized Version must remain. If we 
may so speak, without irreverence, it has a point ; and the 
point is that the accusers are constrained to put the sin- 
ners and the harlots “first” This, too, is the conclusion 
which our Lord Himself does not hesitate to force upon 
them. “ Jesus saith unto them , Verily I say unto you , That 
the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God 
before you.” The last becomes first, and the first are made 
last. It is true, as Meyer says, that “ th z going before ” on 
the part of the publicans and sinners, “ does not neces- 
sarily imply that others are following ; ” but it is also true 
that there is enough of reserve in our Lord’s treatment of 
the whole case, not to prevent, but rather to stir up, His 
enemies to jealousy to follow after, if there be any among 
them still open to repentance. It will be noticed that 
our Lord here speaks of the kingdom of God in the pres- 
ent tense, not as something still future, but as already 
come. It is not, as Meyer puts it, “ as though the future 
entering into the Messianic kingdom were now taking 
place ; ” but, as Reuss explains it. Here, as elsewhere, 
Jesus “assigns a precise date to the commencement of the 
kingdom, and that date is no other than the moment 
when John the Baptist, the last and greatest of the 
prophets, opened the doors, so to speak, by proclaiming 
to the world Him who was to realize its most cherished 


CHARGED WITH HYPOCRISY AND INSINCERITY. 25 7 


hopes. From that moment the movement toward the 
kingdom begins, and men eagerly press into it. The 
kingdom of God, which Jesus desired to make a reality, 
commences with His personal appearance on the theatre of 
the world. His advent and the setting up of the king- 
dom are one and the same thing, because He is the head 
and the cause of the kingdom, and the cause cannot exist 
without its effect. The commencement of the kingdom 
is not consigned to some coming epoch ; it is not con- 
nected with some outward, visible, palpable event. The 
kingdom is established deep down in the hearts opened to 
receive it ; it is prepared in silence, set up without noise 
or tumult as soon as the seed scattered by the sower’s 
hand begins to develop its germ in a soil suited to it. In 
the same manner organic life in nature commences from 
the moment the grain comes in contact with the humid 
soil ; it is developed invisibly in the bosom of the earth, 
and sends forth first the feeble blade, then the ear, then 
the full corn in the ear.” 

The sum and substance of the whole argument is, that 
in rejecting the testimony of John the Pharisees were 
left without excuse. However it might be with Himself, 
they were bound to receive the testimony of John, for 
John came to them “ in the way of righteousness ” — “ by 
the way they acknowledged to be righteousness, i.e., by 
austerity and fasting” — and “ they believed him not” The 
publicans and harlots, on the other hand, who might have 
been expected to be repelled by John’s hard, ascetic life, 
“ believed him” It was their “ crowning sin,” then, “ that 

17 


258 


THE LEA DEES OF THE THEOCRACY 


when they saw the fruits of genuine repentance in pub- 
licans and harlots, they were not moved even by this. 
The greatest miracle which God can perform to bring 
men to Himself is the sight of those, once dead in sins, 
hearing the voice of God and beginning to live ; the 
Pharisees rejected this miracle of miracles, and so were, 
humanly speaking, shut up in unbelief.” It was not, then, 
John only they rejected ; nor did their guilt consist in 
setting at naught Him to whom John bore witness ; 
but to this they added the sin against the Holy Ghost, 
for they would not acknowledge “ the finger of God ” 
in the visible tokens of the presence and power of His 
Holy Spirit openly exhibited before them. John, by his 
preaching, had called forth a powerful Messianic move- 
ment which it was idle to gainsay or resist. Since his ap- 
pearing, down to the present moment, the kingdom of 
heaven suffereth violence, and the men of violence are 
taking it by force. So ends the first act of the drama. 
Jesus has given His authority for doing as He did. He 
has justified His own action in receiving publicans and 
sinners. He has made manifest the insincerity of His 
accusers. He has “put down the mighty from their 
seats,” and He “ has exalted them of low degree.” 


CHARGED WITH HYPOCRISY AND INSINCERITY. 259 


NOTES. 

Ver. 28. — Wescott and Hort, on the authority of one MS., reverse the 
order in which the answers of the sons is given in the Authorized Version ; 
but the correction is based on an entire misconception of the parable, the 
object of which is, as we have seen, to make prominent the repentance of 
the publicans and harlots, and not the Pharisees. Bruce makes the same 
mistake in his interpretation of the parable, and adopts, accordingly, the 
reading of the Vatican Codex. 

Ver. 30. — Meyer and Wordsworth, on good authority, both give t<£ erepw, 
instead of Sevrepy. 

Ver. 31. — Instead of 6 irpcoros we have not less than three different read- 
ings. But Wordsworth observes that 6 nvpwTos is the reading of most MSS. 
and versions, and of the old Syriac Cureton, and cannot be set aside for 6 
vcrrepos , or 6 bevrepos, or 0 ec rxaros ; in which Meyer concurs. 




XII. 

'ffic WticUA XJiHC^ilfCSSCKS. 


* 



XII. 


glxje MtxjcTxjexl 


UNFAITHFUL OFFICE-BEARERS PUNISHED FOR THEIR 

BREACH OF TRUST. 


Hear another parable : There was a cer- 
tain householder, which had planted a vine- 
yard, and hedged it round about, and digged 
a wine-press in it, and built a tower, and let 
it out to husbandmen, and went into a far 
country : and when the time of the fruit drew 
near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, 
that they might receive the fruits of it. And 
the husbandmen took his servants, and beat 
one, and killed another, and stoned another. 
Again, he sent other servants more than the 
first : and they did unto them likewise. But, 
last of all, he sent unto them his son, saying, 
They will reverence my son. But when the 
husbandmen saw the son, they said among 
themselves, This is the heir : come, let us kill 
him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And 
they caught him, and cast him out of the vine- 


yard, and slew him. When the lord there- 
fore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do 
unto those husbandmen ? They say unto 
him, He will miserably destroy those wicked 
men, and will let out his vineyard unto other 
husbandmen, which shall render him the 
fruits in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them. 
Did ye never read in the scriptures, The 
stone which the builders rejected, the same is 
become the head of the corner : this is the 
Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? 
Therefore I say unto you, The kingdom of 
God shall be taken from you, and given to a 
nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And 
whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be 
broken : but on whomsoever it shall fall, it 
will grind him to powder. — S. Matt. xxi. 
33 - 44 - 


The parable of the Two Sons is followed up by “an- 
other,” which contains the second count of the indictment 
against the Jewish hierarchy. It is not without meaning 
that our Lord takes the imagery of the prophet Isaiah in 
his well-known fifth chapter, and adapts it to the pur- 
poses of His own great argument. While the basis of the 
parables is the same, the method of treatment, it is to be 


264 


UNFAITHFUL OFFICE-BEARERS 


observed, is entirely different.* There it is the vine that 
is blamed for not bearing fruit ; here it is the vine-dressers, 
who are reproached because they will not render to the 
owners of the estate the rent that is his due. In Isaiah 
the heads of the nation are not mentioned ; in our Lord’s 
parable it is the cultivators of the vine who are placed in 
the foreground. This is just as we might have expected. 
The whole nation, indeed, is guilty, as it is intimated later 
on ; but it is the chief priests, and elders, and the council 
of the Sanhedrim, who are chiefly responsible for the sin 
of the nation. If they had done their duty, and had kept 
in mind their official responsibility, things would have 
been different. Calderwood f does justice to this feature 
of the parable. The warning is, first of all, to the responsi- 
bilities of those intrusted with office in the Church ; bitter 
opposition to God’s claims may be cherished within God’s 
house, and even by those who have been set in authority 
there. 

It is in accordance with this view of the parable that 
special stress is laid in S. Matthew, at the outset, on the 
fact of proprietorship. In S. Mark and S. Luke it is “ a 
certain man ” who planted a vineyard ; in S. Matthew it is 
“ house-master ” or “ landlord ” (ol/coSeo-Trorrjs). The note 
of sovereignty is emphasized, and the care taken to pro- 
vide the vineyard with everything necessary for successful 
cultivation before farming it out to others. The vineyard 
did not belong to the Jews, nor to the “priests” and 
“ elders.” It was not their care, which at the first provided 

* Sadler. f The Parables of Our Lord ’ p. 319. 


PUNISHED FOR THEIR BREACH OF TRUST. 265 


it with a hedge, and a wine-press, and a tower for defence. 
All this was done by the proprietor before he let it out to 
others. It was the duty of the husbandmen to see that 
the hedge was kept up, and the wine-fat filled with grapes, 
and the tower manned, and the rent paid to the proprietor, 
and not to be thinking only of themselves and their own 
aggrandizement. It was in this respect that our Lord 
claimed to be recognized as the true Son and Heir of the 
Original Planter of the vineyard. While the chief priests 
and elders were wholly absorbed in maintaining “ their 
own honor and influence,” Jesus, on the other hand, only 
seeks the honor of Him that sent Him. He thinks only 
“ of the glory, the proprietary rights, the authoritative re- 
quirements of the Lord of all.” 

But why does our Lord here enumerate the “ hedge,” 
the “ wine-fat,” and the “ tower ? ” Are these mere in- 
cidental details, or do they form an essential part of the 
whole setting of the picture ? Goebel and Meyer scout 
the notion ; Weiss calls it allegorizing; and even Sadler 
is afraid to commit himself. It is true, however, that the 
symbolism of Holy Scripture is ever at one with itself. 
The vineyard of Isaiah is only another form of the “ gar- 
den inclosed,” in which God placed man at the first. The 
“ hedge ” is neither more nor less than the wall of separa- 
tion which marks the state of grace as contra-distinguished 
from the state of nature. It was the glory and privilege 
of the Jew that God gave into his keeping the law, and 
committed His “ oracles ” to his care. He brought him 
into covenant relation with Himself ; and for purposes of 


266 


UNFAITHFUL OFFICE-BEARERS 


His own He separated the seed of Abraham from the na- 
tions round about. Who ever planted a vineyard without 
a hedge ? It was as a punishment for the sin and neglect 
of the people, that the “ hedge ” was ever allowed to be 
“ broken down,” and the “ wild boar out of the wood ” 
permitted to run riot in the vineyard of the Lord. It is 
always so. The normal condition of the Church in every 
age is that of a “ garden inclosed ; ” if the hedge be ever 
broken down, and the world allowed to enter and take 
possession, it is as a judgment upon the selfishness of 
those who have abused their trust and perverted it to self- 
ish ends, instead of thinking only of the pruning of the 
vines, and the fruit to be returned to the owner of the 
vineyard. And who ever saw a vineyard that was not pro- 
vided with a press and a wine-fat ? Just as the Garden of 
Eden had planted in it the sacramental signs of the “ tree 
of knowledge of good and evil,” and the “ tree of life ” — 
the restraint put upon the lower animal appetites by the 
one being made the condition of the eating of the other ; 
so, in the later symbolism of the Old Testament, it is made 
a mark of the true Messiah that He “treads the wine- 
press alone,” and of “ the people there is none with him.” 
It was in contrast with the mission and work of Jesus that 
the Jewish priesthood would not tread the wine-fat. They 
did as the sons of Eli did : they took of the best portion 
of the fat of the sacrifice for their own use, and paid no 
regard, either in their lives or in their teaching, to the 
meaning and mystery of the whole sacrificial system, 
which had been committed to their care. This, we 


PUNISHED FOR THEIR BREACH OF TRUST. 2 67 


shall see, is the great truth insisted upon in the next 
parable. 

But the Church on earth is always a militant Church, 
she is placed in an enemy’s country, and is called upon to 
maintain her position amid foes on every side. There 
must, then, be a tower for defence, as well as a hedge to 
separate, and a wine-fat to receive the juice of the grape. 
Satan gained access to Paradise when Adam left Eve to 
wander at large. It was when Jesus was consecrated to 
His work by the gift of the Holy Spirit that He had 
to prove His armor by going forth to do battle with the 
devil in the wilderness. Spenser, in his “ Faerie Queene,” 
bears witness to the same eternal truth. Now all this 
is not allegorizing, save for those who are without eyes to 
see the meaning of a picture when it is presented to them, 
and are incapable of apprehending the truth, except when 
it comes before them in logical propositions. In is like 
explaining a pungent witticism to a dull mind to say that 
the “ hedge ” means the law, and the “ press ” stands for 
“ tribulation,” and the “tower” for fighting ; but let the 
reader follow up the argument into the next parable, and 
he will not fail to discern the meaning of the enumera- 
tion of the particulars of the hedge, and the wine-fat, 
and the tower, with which the householder provided his 
vineyard before letting it out to husbandmen. Thiersch, 
with his accustomed prophetic insight, interprets for us 
this portion of the picture: “The vineyard which God 
the Lord had planted is, as Isaiah had already an- 
nounced, the chosen people of Israel. The hedge with 


268 


UNFAITHFUL OFFICE-BEARERS 


which He had fenced off His vineyard and protected it 
against the inroads of robbers and wild beasts, is the 
law. This He had erected as a demarcation between Is- 
rael and the surrounding nations, and appointed to be a 
protection to His people against the irruption of heathen- 
ish vices and idolatries. The wine-press in the midst of 
the vineyard means the temple and the service of God, 
that divine institution by which Israel should glorify God 
in the worthy offering of their sacrifices and prayers, as the 
fruit of the vineyard. The tower for the watchmen, who 
should guard and defend the vineyard, means the kingdom 
of David, which God had established as a protection of 
His people and their land against the enemy. The hus- 
bandmen, to whose industry and care he had intrusted the 
vineyard, are the rulers of the people, the kings, the priests, 
the elders, and scribes. The high council of the seventy- 
two — the Sanhedrim — as it then consisted, was formed of 
men of the family of the high-priest, princes of the royal 
race, and of men learned in the law ; so that each of the 
three classes consisted of twenty-four men, and had their 
president; these three presidents — the high-priest, the 
prince, and the teacher or doctor — presided in the Sanhe- 
drim. These were the husbandmen in the time of Jesus.” 

The vineyard provided with all things needful, the 
householder “ let it out to husbandmen , and went into a 
far country .” “ The choice of the verb e/eS/Sayw, i.e., to 

give something out of one" s power, out of one's hand, along 
with the contemporaneous departure of the householder, 
shows us the independent position assigned to the hus- 


PUNISHED FOR THEIR BREACH OF TRUST. 269 


bandmen as regards the vineyard. They are not sent 
into the vineyard as mere hired laborers to do this or that 
work, but the vineyard, with all belonging to it, is given 
up to them to cultivate and manage independently, of 
course, with the obligation to deliver to the owner in due 
time the fruits belonging to him. Everything in the nar- 
rative turns on the position of the vine-dressers, in virtue 
of which they acquire possession of the vineyard with all 
its appliances, and are responsible to the master for the 
produce.” * 

Twice already, it will be remembered, we have met 
with something of the same kind. We have seen the 
“ householder,” in the parable of the Tares, leaving the 
good seed, which he had sown, to the care of his servants, 
while he betakes himself to rest. In the parable of the 
Merciful King and the Unmerciful Servant the reckoning 
is with servants to whom the estate had been farmed out, 
and who were expected to render out to those under them 
the same measure of grace which has been extended to 
themselves. As in the present case, so also in the parable 
of the Talents, the kingdom of heaven is compared to “ a 
man travelling into a far country, who called his own ser- 
vants and delivered unto them his goods.” As it is in 
nature, so also is it in grace. As in nature God creates, 
and then commits the things He has created to the opera- 
tion of natural laws and the care of others ; so in the 
economy of grace there are creative periods when God 
manifests His presence by extraordinary revelations, as 
* Goebel. 


270 


UNFAITHFUL OFFICE-BEARERS 


upon Mount Sinai, and there are periods of passivity 
when He gives time and opportunity for the spontaneous 
moral development of His Church and people under the 
fostering influence of the institutions He has provided for 
them. The spiritual world, indeed, like the world round 
about us, holds an immediate and direct relation to Him 
who has called it into existence ; but this does not in- 
terfere with the fact, that God delegates His power to 
others, and makes them co-workers with Himself in car- 
rying out His plans. He has His “ own servants,” those 
who are His assessors, and hold a place of confidential 
relationship to Himself in the administration of His af- 
fairs. 

But if the owner of the vineyard, for reasons of his 
own, “ lets out his vineyard to others,” and goes into “ a 
far country,” he has his times of “ periodical reckoning,” 
when he returns to receive his portion of the fruits. The 
history of the Church, as it is represented to us in the 
parable, does not flow on, it will be observed, in an un- 
broken and unvarying succession of events, but it has its 
times and seasons when God appears, through His ap- 
pointed messengers, and calls upon those invested with 
authority to render an account. Dean Jackson calls at- 
tention to “three” such “ climacterical periods”* in the 
history of God’s ancient people, when God sent His 
messengers to gather the fruits of the vineyard, and 
visited His Church and nation with sore judgments for 
not making a due return. 

* On the Creed \ vol. xi., p. 381. 


PUNISHED FOR THEIR PREACH OF TRUST. 2JI 


The parable, it will be noted, discriminates between the 
“ husbandmen ” to whom the vineyard with all its appli- 
ances is given in charge, and the servants who are sent 
“ to receive the fruits.” By the “ husbandmen ” we are 
to understand the hierarchy and the rulers of the The- 
ocracy, while the “ servants ” are the prophets, who from 
time to time were sent forth to call the people to repent- 
ance and holiness of living. “ These required fruits of 
the vineyard,” Olshausen reminds us, “ are not to be re- 
ferred to certain epya (works), or a state of integrity and 
rectitude, but rather to repentance (fierdvoia), and the 
inward desire after that true spiritual righteousness ( '8i/ca - 
cocrvvrj), which the law could not produce.” 

After the sending of the first messengers to gather the 
fruits of the vineyard, from the time of Moses and Joshua 
to the setting up of the monarchy under David and Solo- 
mon, God “ sent other servants more than the first , and 
they did unto them ” as they had done to the earlier mes- 
sengers, “ they beat one , and killed another , and stoned a7i - 
other T This second embassy would seem to cover the 
whole period of the later prophets, up to the time of the 
Babylonian captivity, after which God sent no more 
prophets until the time of John the Baptist. The beating, 
and the killing, and the stoning, Bengel remarks, are of 
the nature of a climax, and had, at the same time, a literal 
fulfilment. Amos, it is said, was beaten to death by a 
club ; Isaiah was slain with the sword ; while Jeremiah 
was stoned to death. 

Up to this point the parable has been dealing with the 


2/2 


UNFAITHFUL OFFICE-BEARERS 


history of the past ; it now turns to the future, and as it 
does so assumes a prophetical tone. The history of the 
past repeats itself in the present, and that, too, in an ex- 
aggerated form. The heads of the nation, in earlier times, 
killed the servants, but to this the present generation have 
added the crime of conspiring against the “ son ” and 
“ heir.” It is a curious instance of the feebleness which is 
characteristic of the school of so-called grammatical and 
historical interpretation, that it professes to find grave dif- 
ficulties in explaining the words appended to the state- 
ment, “ last of all he sent unto them his son” How, it is 
asked, are we to reconcile the saying, “ They will reverence 
my son,” v/ith the rejection of the son and the foreknowl- 
edge of God ? The answer is, our Lord is not here deal- 
ing with theological problems but with matters of fact. He 
is speaking as an apologist, and, under the cover of the 
parable, He is claiming for Himself nothing short of di- 
vine attributes, and with an exquisite irony He is stat- 
ing what, under the circumstances, it was reasonable and 
natural to expect of men like the members of the Sanhe- 
drim and the rulers of the people. What could God 
expect of such but that they will so “ reverence His son?” 
But they did not. Nor was their failure to do so the result 
of ignorance, as some might be disposed to plead on their 
behalf. For the moment “ the husbandmen saw the son , 
they said among themselves , This is the heir : come, let us 
kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.” It was not 
ignorance, but it was the lust of power which made them 
do as they did. They wanted to be masters themselves ; 


PUNISHED FOR THEIR BREACH OF TRUST. 2 73 


their love of prerogative and fondness for official station 
had effaced all thought of stewardship, and filled their 
hearts with envy and covetousness. Thus “ Jesus unveils 
before all the people the plots of their chiefs, and the real 
cause of the hatred with which they follow Him. These 
men have made the Theocracy their property (John xi. 
48, our place , our nation ) ; and this power, which, till now, 
they have turned to their advantage, they cannot bring 
themselves to give up into the hands of the son, who 
claims it in His Father’s name.” * It is, as Calderwood 
(whose treatment of the parable is exceptionally good) says, 
a terrible warning to “ unfaithful office-bearers ” in every 
age. Officialism, against which our Lord warns His Apos- 
tles at an early stage of their ministry, is not — as the world 
is disposed to treat it — an amiable weakness, but is a 
deadly sin, the root of which is selfishness and vanity. “ It 
is not suggested,” Calderwood remarks, “ that mere gain, 
in the sense of money reward, inevitably sways the mind 
of office-bearers who prove unfaithful. This certainly may 
happen, but more commonly other influences operate, as 
suggested by the occasion for the parable. Self-seeking 
takes another form in their case. It is the type of self- 
seeking incidental to rule over others. Desire of influence, 
love of power, and habits of rule, greatly influence the 
mind and are prone to come into competition with the 
grand motive for all spiritual work, the glory of God in 
the advancement of righteousness.” 

“ The representation of the parable has now reached a 

* Godet. 

18 


274 


UNFAITHFUL OFFICE-BEARERS 


point where it causes the figure to mirror, no longer past, 
but present events. For in describing the plotting of the 
vine-dressers on the appearance of the heir (ver. 38), Je- 
sus discloses the plots against His person with which the 
rulers of Israel have long been busy, and are especially 
busy now, describing both their contents and motive. As 
the vine-dressers feel themselves seriously threatened by 
the appearance of the heir, in the usurped possession of 
the vineyard, so they, by the appearance of the Messiah, 
as the lord and heir of the Theocracy, in their selfish em- 
ployment of the theocratic commonwealth as if it were a 
possession of their own, meant only to serve their own 
selfish ends. And therefore like the vine-dressers, who 
plan the murder of the heir in order to possess his inheri- 
tance without hindrance, so they are busy with the plan of 
killing the heir of the Theocracy, in order to be able to 
lord as they please in the theocratic commonwealth, as its 
undisputed lords and possessors. As in the case of the 
vine-dressers, the ground of this calculation is the ignoring 
of the householder, encouraged by his long absence, so in 
the case of the leaders of Israel it is the disbelief in God’s 
intervention, fostered by His long withdrawal.” * 

And now* following up the method of the previous par- 
able, the question comes, “ When the lord therefore of the 
vineyard cotneth , what will he do unto those husbandmen ? ” 
The form of the question, it will be observed, is of the nat- 
ure of a warning that after the killing of the heir the lord of 
the vineyard will assuredly put in an appearance, and hav- 
* Goebel. 


PUNISHED FOR THEIR BREACH OF TRUST. 275 


ing done all that patience could suggest, will then come 
to judge his people. Anxious to make it appear that 
they do not regard themselves as the persons implicated, 
the deputies of the great council answer, “ He will miser- 
ably destroy those wicked men , and will let out his vine- 
yard unto other husbandmen , which shall render him the 
fruits in their seasons .” They are caught in the trap laid 
for them, and in pronouncing judgment upon others they 
prophesy, like Caiaphas^ what is about to happen in the 
near future. Our English version fails to give the force 
of the original here. The collocation of the words kclkovs 
tcaiccbs cnroXecrei avrovs “ serves to indicate in an emphatic 
manner the correspondence between the conduct in ques- 
tion and the punishment.”* No words are too severe to 
express the feeling of contempt for these robbers and mur- 
derers. They are miserable creatures, scoundrels (kclkovs) ; 
and they deserve to die a miserable (iccucm) death, such as 
robbers and murderers ought to have portioned out to 
them. 

But it is in vain the Sanhedrists think, that by passing 
severe judgment upon others, they are going to screen 
themselves. They have turned prophets, and they will 
have to eat their own words, bitter as it may be for them 
to do so. Jesus now follows up His advantage by asking 
them the question, “ Did ye never read in the scriptures , 
The stone which the builders rejected , the same is become 
the head of the corner : this is the Lord's doing, and it is 
marvellous in our eyes ? Therefore say I unto you , The 
* Meyer. 


276 


UNFAITHFUL OFFICE-BEARERS 


kingdom of God shall be taken from you , , and given to a 
nation bringing forth the fruits thereof” If they will not 
see it in one way, they will have to see it another. They 
deprecate the notion of killing and casting out the heir — 
that is a thought possibly they have not yet dared to ac- 
knowledge to themselves ; but what about “ the rejected 
stone ? ” This is Scripture ! It is the voice of prophecy 
which speaks, not the voice of Him whose words they re- 
fuse to hear. His rejection, then, so far from being a wit- 
ness against Him, is the truest test of His Messiahship. 
He is the “stone:” they are the “builders.” Their own 
conscience bears witness to the truth of what He says, 
even as their own words have testified to the righteous- 
ness of the judgment that is about to fall upon them- 
selves and their nation. 

It is a home thrust, and, as the sequel proves, the chief 
priests and Pharisees (ver. 45) feel it to be such. If there 
was one thing more than another which the proud spirit of 
the leaders of the Theocracy could not brook, it was the 
thought of the suffering Messiah. And now, to have it 
turned against them that their own rejection of Jesus of 
Nazareth, because of His lowly guise, was one of the wit- 
nesses of prophecy to the truth of His mission, moved 
them to madness. It was only their fear of the multitude 
that prevented (ver. 46) their laying violent hands on 
Him who thus exposed to view the secrets of their hearts. 

Doubts have been thrown upon the genuineness of the 
words : “ And whosoever shall fall upon this stone shall be 
broken : but on whomsoever it shall fall , it will grind him to 


PUNISHED FOR THEIR BREACH OF TRUST. 277 


powder ,” but the weight of authority is decidedly in their 
favor. Notwithstanding the objections of Olshausen, they 
are to be regarded as furnishing an admirable summary of 
the whole argument. The high-priests and elders were 
madly rushing on to their ruin ; they were about to com- 
mit a deadly sin. The past, with all its errors, might be 
condoned. God had proved Himself merciful, and He 
might still be propitiated. There is a sin against the Holy 
Ghost, and it is this sin which, in their wilful blindness, 
the high-priests and elders are about to commit. 

Archbishop Trench here states the argument clearly : 
“ They fall on the stone who are offended at Christ in His 
low estate ; of this sin His hearers were already guilty. 
There was yet a worse sin, which they were on the point 
of committing, which He warns them would be followed 
with a more tremendous punishment ; they on whom the 
stone falls are they who set themselves distinctly against 
Christ, who to the end oppose themselves to Him and His 
kingdom. They shall not merely fall and be broken, for 
one might recover himself from such a fall ; but on them 
the stone shall fall, and grind them to powder, destroying 
them with a doom from which there should be no re- 
covery.” 

S. Chrysostom says to the same effect : “ He speaks 
here of two ways of destruction, one from stumbling and 
being offended (for this is, ‘ whosoever falleth on this stone ’) ; 
but another from their capture and calamity, and utter de- 
struction, which he foretold, saying, ‘ It will grind him to 
powder .’ Then, that they might learn that nothing of all 


278 UNFAITHFUL OFFICE-BEARERS 


this was in opposition to the will of God, but that the 
event was even highly acceptable, and beyond expectation, 
and amazing to everyone of the beholders, (for, indeed, the 
miracle is beyond words), He added and said, 6 It is the 
Lord's doing , and marvellous in our eyes l ” 


NOTES. 

Ver. 33. — “The manifest activity of the Lord (e^urevtre) is plainly distin- 
guished from His withdrawment (foreS ^W7j<rej/). This antithesis is obviously 
intended to denote the different relations of God to the people of Israel in 
different periods of their history. The time when the law was given from 
Sinai, when the Lord of the world visibly manifested Himself to the people 
and made known His sacred commands by Moses, was that in which the 
whole was planted and arranged. From that time He did not again visit 
His people in a similar manner ; he awaited the development of the implanted 
germs, under the guidance of the priests, to whom that development was in- 
trusted. ” — Olshausen. 

Ver. 34. — We are reminded in this verse that while the lord of the vine- 
yard did not visit His people in person, as at the first, He did appear through 
His messengers, the prophets, at certain seasons. The avrov here is to be 
rendered “his,” and is to be referred to the Lord, and the proprietor, not 
to the vineyard. The frequent recurrence of the avrov is intended to em- 
phasize the fact of proprietorship. 

Ver. 36. — Goebel’s translation of ir\e(ovas ra>v irpdorav, “other servants 
higher than the first,” while it might be sustained by the usus loquendi of 
the New Testament, is not required by the “ didactic drift of the parable ” 
(Bruce), which has reference only to the number and repetition of the mes- 
sages sent, and not to the rank or importance of the messengers. The in- 
troduction of such a thought would be entirely out of place, when the object 
to be gained was simply to secure the fruit. 

Ver. 38. — The critical authorities here read <rx&V*v for Kardcrx^^v, which 
would appear to be a gloss. “The reading of the Recepta, Kardnxof/iieu, 
‘let us take in possession,’ is a probable simplifying of the ax^h^v, which 
means, in this connection, ‘ After the heir has been removed out of the way, 
let us further possess his inheritance unhindered.’ Thus they did not speak 
of obtaining something not already in their possession, but, after getting rid 


PUNISHED FOR THEIR BREACH OF TRUST, 2jg 


of the heir and his threatening claims, they hope to possess as undisputed, 
and so far for the first time really, the vineyard, which they had already un- 
justly seized, but the possession of which is now seriously threatened by the 
appearance of the heir.” — G oebel. 

Ver. 41. — The 6/cSd(r6Tot here corresponds to the e£e8uro of ver. 33. He 
will hand over the vineyard to other and a different kind of vine-dressers ; 
olrives equals quippe qui , persons of whom it is to be expected that they 
“ will deliver to him the fruits in their seasons .” Meyer observes that 
“if we are to apply the parable in accordance with the order of thought, 
and therefore in accordance -with the meaning intended by Jesus Himself, 
we cannot understand the coming of the Kvpios , and the execution of the 
punishment, to the second advent and the last judgment ; for, apart from the 
fact that it is God, and not Christ, that is represented by the Kvpios, the words 
oinves andbucrovoiv, k.t.A., would point to the period subsequent to the ad- 
vent and the judgment — a reference not in keeping with the punishment. The 
true reference is to the destruction of ferusalem , the shape in which the divine 
judgment is to overtake the then guardians of the Theocracy, whereupon the 
latter would be intrusted to the care of the other guides (i. e. , to the teachers 
of the Christian Church as representing the true ’IcrpcdjA rod 0eov) who as such 
will be called upon to undertake the duties and responsibilities of their un- 
faithful predecessors.” 



XIII. 

£txc fXXarrxagc of ttxc Ring's Son and tlxc 
Rejected ©nest. 






XIII. 


Jgfre jpiamarje of tfxe %x uq's Mon atuT t\xo e* 

jejctjcxt 05 ujc st. 


THE DOOM OF DESPISERS AND ABUSERS OF ELECTION 

TO GRACE. 


And Jesus answered and spake unto them 
again by parables, and said, The kingdom of 
heaven is like unto a certain king, which made 
a marriage for his son, and sent forth his ser- 
vants to call them that were bidden to the 
wedding : and they would not come. Again, 
he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them 
which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my 
dinner ; my oxen, and my fadings are killed, 
and all things are ready ; come unto the 
marriage. But they made light of it, and 
went their ways, one to his farm, another to 
his merchandise : and the remnant took his 
servants, entreated them spitefully, and slew 
them. But when the king heard thereof, he 
was wroth : and he sent forth his armies, and 
destroyed those murderers, and burned up 
their city. Then saith he to his servants, 


The wedding is ready, but they which were 
bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into 
the high-ways ; and as many as ye shall find, 
bid to the marriage. So those servants went 
out into the high-ways, and gathered together 
all, as many as they found, both bad and 
good : and the wedding was furnished with 
guests. And when the king came in to see 
the guests, he saw there a man which had not 
on a wedding garment : and he saith unto 
him, Friend, how earnest thou in hither, not 
having a wedding garment? And he was 
speechless. Then saith the king to the ser- 
vants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him 
away, and cast him into outer darkness : there 
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For 
many are called, but few are chosen. — S. 
Matt. xxii. 1-14. 


Lange traces, with admirable skill, the whole course of 
the argument, from its beginning to its close in the last 
of the three Apologetic Parables : “ His enemies would 
oppress and destroy the Lord through the might of their 
theocratic hierarchical authority. But He constrained 
them, by the might of His wisdom, to pronounce before 
the people in the temple the sentence of their own deposi- 


284 THE DOOM OF DESPISERS AND ABUSERS 


tion and degradation. By the question concerning the ori- 
gin of John’s baptism He accomplished three things : 1. He 
constrained them to make manifest how much they dif- 
fered from the belief of the people in the prophetic mission 
of the Baptist. 2. He brought home to their minds their 
own guilt, in having rejected the Baptist’s express authen- 
tication of His claims as the Messiah. 3. He rendered it 
necessary that they should pronounce their own sentence 
upon themselves, as utterly incompetent to discharge the 
duties of their office. Thus the defensive was turned al- 
ready into the offensive. But the special attack upon them, 
to which He now passes on, unfolds their guilt and its pun- 
ishment in perfect gradation ; and here again they are ob- 
liged to pronounce sentence upon themselves. Despisers of 
John, the prophet of repentance, worse than publicans and 
harlots! — this is the first sentence. That of the second 
is : Unfaithful stewards of the Lord’s vineyard, murderers 
of the Messiah, condemned, deprived of their office, de- 
graded, and forced to make way for strangers better than 
themselves ! — this is the second sentence. Being with the 
whole people insane despisers of God and His salvation, 
and in all their acts rebels against Him, their city is to be 
burned, while they themselves are to be destroyed and to 
give place to the Gentiles ! — this is the third sentence 
which the Lord Himself utters in an allegorical prophecy. 
In all these mark the gradation of their guilt. In the 
first parable they are, by their ‘ I will, sir,’ condemned, as 
well as by the repentance of the publicans and harlots. 
In the second parable they are condemned by the favor- 


OF ELECTION TO GRACE. 


285 


able terms on which the vineyard is let to them, by the 
long forbearance of the proprietor, by the bold generosity 
with which, at last, he committed to them his son. In 
the third parable, by the dignified invitation of their king 
to the wedding of his son, as if they were friends, while 
at the same time they are subjects, and might be com- 
manded ; by the repetition of the call, and the anxious, 
almost supplicating manner in which the preparations are 
spoken of, and the probable embarrassment caused by 
their absence; but, most of all, by the emptiness of their 
excuses, the stupid malignity of their vengeance upon the 
messenger who invited them.” It is, indeed, impossible 
for anyone who follows up with care the course of the 
argument, and notes the points of similarity (more espe- 
cially between the last two parables), to hesitate for a 
moment in accepting the statement of S. Matthew : “ And 
Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables .” 
Nor can there be any doubt, that there is the same differ- 
ence between the marriage of the king’s son in S. Mat- 
thew, and the great supper of S. Luke (xiv. 16-24), as we 
have already seen to exist between the stray sheep of the 
one, and the lost sheep of the other. The one is an in- 
vitation to the poor and the outcast, after its rejection on 
the part of the worldly and self-indulgent ; and is intended 
to point the moral that the Gentiles will gladly hail what 
the Jews are willing to throw away : while the other is a 
parable of judgment , on the part of a “king” who ac- 
counts as enemies all who turn their backs upon, or treat 
with indifference, the invitation to assist at the marriage 


286 THE DOOM OF DESPISE RS AND ABUSERS 


of his son. Lange says truly that “ evangelical parables 
are not works of art,” in the sense of being copies of each 
other. “ Their fundamental ideas may be viewed from 
different points of view (as in the present instance), and 
differently developed accordingly.” 

It is in strict harmony with the spirit of the second 
parable that events are now represented as hastening on 
to a crisis, which in the very nature of things is inevitable. 
“ The kingdom of heaven” it is said, “ has become (ofioicoOrj) 
like unto a king , which made a marriage for his son.” The 
Incarnation, in other words, has brought in its train cer- 
tain inevitable results which, in the very nature of things, 
establish new relationships, and at the same time create 
new responsibilities. In the earlier dispensation, God ap- 
peared in the form of a “ householder ” planting a vine- 
yard ; and sending, from time to time, the prophets as 
His messengers, to claim His portion of the fruits. But 
now, with the advent of the Son into the world, He comes 
as a “ king.” It could not be otherwise. The claim 
suggested in the words of the preceding parable, “ They 
will reverence my son,” is now, at length, openly made, 
and becomes the basis on which the whole structure 
of the parable rests; even as the fact of ownership, and 
the provision made for securing fruit, was the starting- 
point of the relationship between the householder, and 
the farmers of the vineyard. It is to be observed that 
it is not said, The kingdom of heaven is like a marriage- 
feast ; but that it is compared to a “king” who is engaged 
in sending out invitations, and is busy in preparing for 


OF ELECTION TO GRACE. 


287 


the festivities which are to take place at the marriage of 
his son. It is a somewhat similar case to the distinction 
already noted between the pearl-dealer and the pearl of 
great price. The gravamen of the offence is not the refus- 
ing to come to the feast, as in S. Luke, but in slighting the 
invitation of the “king;” and that, too, when the occasion 
is the nuptials of His only-begotten and well-beloved 
Son. It is for this reason that the image of the “ king ” 
is placed in the foreground. To do despite to the Son 
in such a case is to incur the wrath of the Father. The 
divinity of the one places men in direct relation with the 
divinity of the other. It is not, it is to be repeated, a mere 
exhibition of indifference and insensibility to the joys 
which are associated with the merry-making, incidental 
to such an occasion, which is found fault with in S. Mat- 
thew ; but it is the token of disloyalty : and that, too, 
under circumstances of the most aggravating kind. In 
other words, insensibility to the call of the Gospel is 
not, as some would make it appear, the result of lack of 
knowledge ; nor is it an indication of mere want of senti- 
ment, for the ignorant and the besotted are capable of 
repentance : but, as the parable puts it, when traced to 
its source, it is a moral defect which has its origin in 
the will ; and is a refusal of the man to surrender himself 
up, under any circumstances, to the will of his Maker, 
whether that will be expressed under the form of law or 
love. 

There can be no doubt, then, that it is not the feast, but 
the marriage , which is most to be thought of in the ren- 


288 THE DOOM OF DESPISERS AND ABUSERS 


dering of the phrase iroLelv yd/Aovs. Meyer is right, when 
in opposition to Michaelis, Fischer, Kuinoel, Paulus, and 
others (who contend that it is “ only a feast in celebration 
of the receiving of the kingdom that is meant”) he says, 
“the Messiah is the bridegroom (ch. xxv. i), the be- 
trothal is the establishment of His kingdom (comp, on 
Eph. v. 27).” And as the notion of the feast is not to be 
allowed to take the place of or overshadow the idea of the 
marriage, but is to be held in subordination as an acces- 
sory ; so also the image of the wedding is not to be treated 
as accidental, or as if it were a mere figure of speech. We 
find John the Baptist speaking of himself as the para- 
nymph , or “ best ” man of the bridegroom, but disclaiming 
with all earnestness the honor of being himself the One 
long expected. In like manner Jesus gives it as a reason 
why His disciples cannot fast, that the bridegroom is with 
them; but when the days come that the bridegroom is 
taken away, then they are to fast. There is a fundamental 
difference, in other words, between the manifestation of 
Godhead under the law, and the manifestation of God- 
head in the person of Christ Jesus and the economy of the 
Gospel. They are not contradictory; they are comple- 
mentary of each other. There, God manifests Himself as 
God Almighty, the fountain of law and moral obligation ; 
here, He manifests Himself as the friend of sinners, who 
allows the powers of evil to triumph for a time in order 
that men may be brought to repentance when they 
see what their sin has wrought in the Sufferer upon the 
accursed tree. It is the sight of suffering love, which 


OF ELECTION- TO GRACE. 


289 


makes the Lord Jesus the supreme delight of the eternal 
Father’s heart ; and at the same time causes Him to be the 
moral magnet which draws to Him, with an irresistible 
attraction, all who feel a sense of need among the sons of 
men. He that would rob the awful mystery of the cross 
of Christ of its reality, as an exhibition of divine love 
yielding to the necessity of a temporary triumph on the 
part of the powers of evil, in order that men might be able 
to see what evil in its own nature as the foe of the good 
is, and when they see it, be led to abhor and renounce it 
forever, is incapable of appreciating the power of self- 
sacrifice; and knows nothing of the inscrutable mystery 
of sacramental attraction that lies in the powers of self- 
sacrificing love to bind spiritual intelligences in bonds of 
oneness never to be broken. All this, and more than 
this, is embraced in the thought of the king who makes 
a marriage for his son. Other creatures God holds in 
thrall by the might of His irresistible power, but in the 
case of man He is not content unless He wins the empire 
of the heart. It is for this reason that the union between 
Christ and the Church is represented under the form of 
the marrjage-bond. It is for the same reason that in con- 
senting to the deed by which the kingdom of heaven be- 
comes in verity and truth a feast upon a sacrifice , God 
the Father is represented as a king who in it all is making 
preparations to celebrate the marriage of His Son. It is 
necessary to keep the thought continually in mind (as we 
have already pointed out), that the sphere in which the 
parable moves is not that of a mere feast, as in S. Luke ; 

19 


29O THE DOOM OF DESPISERS AND ABUSERS 


but that of a mysterious relation of mutual love and 
honor between the Father and the Son, by virtue of 
which the Father seeks to honor the Son, even as the 
Son consents to die that He may do honor to the maj- 
esty of law in the person of the Father — it is only as 
we grasp, in all its fulness, this deep, underlying thought, 
that we shall be able to appreciate the reason why it is, 
that in S. Matthew a parable of grace — as it is in S. 
Luke — is turned into a parable of judgment. It is be- 
cause the king has prepared a banquet, which has cost 
Him so dear, to do honor to the Son, that all the love 
which He bears for His Son turns to wrath when the men 
He has been preparing to assist at the feast, for such a 
length of time, make light of the call to the wedding. 
What else could He do but “ send forth His armies ” 
and “ burn up their city ? ” It is for the same reason, that 
He gives order to the servants to take away the man 
who, in his hurry to appropriate the good things of the 
banquet, allowed himself to forget the honor that was 
due to Him whose name is now above every name ; 
and to whom all creatures are to bow, in heaven, and on 
earth, and under the earth. The burden of the parable is 
not, now, as it was before, “ Reverence my Son : ” but, 
worship Him ; honor Him as you would honor the Father. 

Here, as elsewhere, Thiersch would appear to stand al- 
most alone in his appreciation of the mystical element in 
the parable. It is an element which mere historical and 
grammatical criticism would seem incapable of estimating 
at its real value, even as a man without an eye for color 


OF ELECTION TO GRACE. 


29I 


is insensible to the tone and feeling of a picture ; or as a 
mere pedant has no appreciation of what it is that gives 
life to eloquence or poetry. Why is it said that in 
preparing for the feast “ the king sent forth his servants 
to call them that were bidden (rou? Ke/cXrjfMevovs) to the 
wedding ?” Thiersch furnishes the answer: “ God, the 
heavenly father, purposes to prepare a feast for the joy 
and honor of His only-begotten Son. From the founda- 
tion of the world He has foreordained an election out of 
mankind, made in the image of God, for the peculiar 
possession of His Son. This election is to be made like 
the Son in holiness and love, and will at last share His 
glory ; it will partake of His" heavenly joys, and be a help- 
meet for Him in the establishment, government, and per- 
fecting of His kingdom. The day approaches when the 
Church of Christ will be solemnly installed in this high 
dignity. This is the day when the song of praise will be 
sung by numerous hosts : ‘ Let us be glad and rejoice, and 
give honor to Him : for the marriage of the Lamb is come, 
and his wife hath made herself ready ’ (Rev. xix. 7).” The 
messengers here sent forth are not, as in the previous 
parable, the prophets of the elder dispensation, but John 
the Baptist, and our Lord Himself in His capacity of a 
prophet, and such as were sent out to prepare the way for 
the- advent of the kingdom. The sphere of the parable, 
as Goebel says, is the New Testament; “for the two 
periods of the New Testament preaching of God’s king- 
dom, brought to Israel by different messengers, are as dis- 
tinctly marked off from each other in the history as in 


292 THE DOOM OF DESPJSERS AND ABUSERS 


the figurative narrative — once by the Baptist and Jesus, 
and afterward, when these messengers found no response, 
again by the Apostles and their fellow-laborers.” 

The guests invited with so much care and formality 
would not come. It was not that they could not come ; 
but they did not want to come (ov/c rjOeXov e\6elv). They 
had no wish to come. The refusal was not the result of 
accident, or forgetfulness, or outward circumstances — this, 
indeed, under the circumstances was impossible — but of 
positive unwillingness. It was, accordingly, an act of dis- 
loyalty. In estimating the sin we are not to overlook 
the fact that the call was a formal, authoritative message, 
given, not by the bride, nor by the bridegroom ; but by the 
“ king,” who has for so long been making ready to celebrate 
the nuptials of the Son and heir, when the time has come 
for Him to take possession of His heritage. It is this 
feature which makes the parable of S. Matthew so en- 
tirely different from that of S. Luke ; and is to be care- 
fully noted for the sake of the evidence it furnishes to the 
genuineness of S. Matthew’s Gospel. 

As in the preceding parable we had a succession of 
prophets sent out from time to time, so in this, when the 
first messengers are repulsed, the divine patience is not ex- 
hausted ; “ other servants ” are sent forth, and lest the in- 
vitation should have failed because of its general character, 
they are told to say, with emphasis and distinctly (etWre), 
“ Behold , I have prepared my dinner ; my oxen and 
my fatlhigs are killed , and all things are ready : come unto 
the marriage .” The second “ callers,” Dr. Bruce, follow- 


OF ELECTION TO GLACE. 


293 


in g Goebel, observes, “ are not merely to invite to, they are 
to commend the feast, with a view to create desire. The 
fact suggests a contrast between the ministry of Christ 
and that of His Apostles. The Apostles differed from 
their Master in two respects. They were more aggres- 
sive or urgent in their manner of preaching ; they preached 
a more developed Gospel. Jesus went forth into the 
world and said quietly, ‘ The kingdom is come.’ Nor did 
He explain fully and elaborately wherein the kingdom 
consisted, and what blessings it brought ; at most He 
conveyed only hints of these by aphorism or parable, or 
by kind words and deeds to sinful and sorrowful men. 
He did not strive, or cry, nor did anyone hear His voice 
in the streets. He did not aim at teaching the multitudes 
the mysteries of the kingdom, but spoke those into the 
ears of the select few. These privileged ones, on the 
other hand, when the time arrived for commencing their 
apostolic career, did not appear before the world as imi- 
tators of the Master. They did not affect His calm, 
lofty tone ; they did not speak in parables ; they did not 
select from the crowd a band of disciples to be taught an 
esoteric doctrine. They became street preachers in temper 
and style ; they spoke from the housetop ; they addressed 
the crowd ; they proclaimed a more explicit, definite, com- 
monplace gospel of forgiveness and salvation from wrath, 
with an eloquence less dignified but more fitted to impress 
the million with a sense of the riches of divine grace? 

It will be observed that something is supposed to have 
taken place since the first more general invitation was 


294 THE doom of despisers and abusers 


given. What is it ? The “ oxen ” and the “ fatlings ” have 
been killed. In other words, the death of Christ has in- 
tervened ; the sacrifice has been offered which is to afford 
the material for the feast. It is even as Isaac Williams 
says : “ There is no rejoicing in Holy Scripture without a 
sacrifice and a feast: no recovering of the prodigal son 
without the slaying of the fatted calf.” We have a not- 
able instance of this in the Twenty-second Psalm. If 
there be one place in Holy Scripture more than another 
where we should not have expected to find any mention 
made of feasting and rejoicing, it is in that wonderful 
psalm, where the mystery of the passion is so graphically 
described. Yet, even here, no sooner is the sufferer heard 
in that he cried, than he proceeds to tell of the glorious 
results which are to flow from his deliverance. But what 
is especially worthy of note is that in the psalm, as in the 
parable, it is his own “ kinsmen of the stock of Israel,” as 
Mr. Thrupp so well points out, who are first called upon 
to take part in rejoicing, and then all kindreds of the 
earth — the outlying Gentiles — are invited to feast upon 
the sacrifice. 

“Ye that fear the Lord, praise him ; 

All ye seed of Jacob, honor him ; 

And stand in awe of him, all ye seed of Israel ! 

“ The meek shall eat and be satisfied ; 

They shall praise the Lord that seek him — 

Let your heart rejoice for ever ! 

“All the fat ones of the earth shall eat and worship ; 

Before him kneel all that are sinking into dust ; 

Yea he that could not keep his own soul alive.’ * 


OF E LECTIO IV TO GRACE . 


2 9 5 


As in the case of the “ hedge ” and the “ tower ” and the 
“wine-press,” so here again observe how the Old and the 
New Testaments are bound indissolubly together, and how 
impossible it is to appreciate the fulness of the one without 
reference to the other. The mention made of “ oxen ” 
and “ fatlings ” is one of those seemingly incidental coin- 
cidences which the careful student of Holy Scriptures will 
readily appreciate as indicating that the feast in the par- 
able is a feast upon a sacrifice. It was the Levitical rule 
(Deut. xii. 6) that in the peace-offering “fatlings” should 
be killed, in addition to the victim prepared for the fire, 
in order that the poor and the immediate friends of the 
offerer might feast upon the sacrifice. It is to be noted 
in this connection that it is not the marriage-supper of the 
Lamb which is here spoken of as in the book of the Reve- 
lation, but the early meal (aptarov, prandium ), taken dur- 
ing the course of the day before the chief meal. It is the 
sacramental side of Christianity which in the “dinner” is 
under consideration in union with the notion of the wed- 
ding ; and more especially the privilege which the gospel 
economy holds forth, in contrast to the legal dispensation, 
of sitting down as “ guests ” at the table of the Lord. 

To this call of the Apostles, as to the first by John the 
Baptist, the invited guests are represented as turning a 
deaf ear. It is said that “ they made light of it , and went 
their ways , one to his farm , another to his merchandise .” 
Nor is this all : “ the remnant took his servants , and en- 
treated them spitefully, and slew them .” The original here 
is somewhat involved, but it is evident that two parties 


296 THE DOOM OF DESPISERS AND ABUSERS 


are represented. There are the careless and easy-going, 
and self-indulgent, and there is a class inferior in number, 
but greater in influence — the Zealots. One part paid lit- 
tle or no attention to the message, but went their way, 
“ one to his farm , another to his merchandise” “ The great 
fault of all these people was their contempt of the sacri- 
fice of propitiation. They thought they had no need of 
such a thing. The love of God and the sufferings of 
JeSus affected them not.”* The Zealots, on the other 
hand, and the hierarchy, whose interests in an official way 
were bound up with the maintenance of the old order 
of things, took a far different course. They had recourse 
to violence (Kpanjaavre^), and they subjected the messen- 
gers to contempt and insult ( vfipLcrav ), and put them to 
death. The opening chapters of the Acts of the Apostles 
are the best commentary on the text. “ But when the 
king heard thereof j he was wroth : and he sent forth his 
armies , and destroyed those murderers , and burnt up their 
city.” As it is the temporal judgment upon the city of 
Jerusalem, and not the final judgment that is spoken of, 
it is the “ king ” — the same “king” who makes the mar- 
riage for his son — who takes vengeance upon the mur- 
derers. Instead of “ messengers of royal grace,” he now 
sends forth his armies — “ the organs of his royal might ” — 
as against Citizens in open revolt, and burns up their city. 
It is worthy of notice how careful Holy Scriptures are to 
preserve, at all times, the economic distinctions between 
the Father and the Son. Here it serves to point the 

* Thiersch, 


OF ELECTION TO GRACE. 


2 97 


moral that as the Son came not to destroy the law, but 
to fulfil the law, and make it honorable, so it is not the 
object of God, in the economy of grace, to release men 
from all sense of moral obligation ; on the contrary, grace 
rejected and resisted will only involve us in deeper pun- 
ishment and retribution. We are involved in the double 
guilt of resisting the call of the Father, and of failing to 
pay due honor to the Son. “The armies of the great 
\ing, by which he executed this punishment, were the 
legions of the heathen Romans, whom he called from the 
Far West. Under the orders of Vespasian and Titus they 
executed the divine judgment, without knowing what they 
did, without understanding the reason why the Jewish 
people were so heavily visited. They had not known the 
time of their visitation of grace.” 

And now we have a third great mission, in the going 
forth of the servants to those who are without the Holy 
City, to the heathen, who up to this time were accounted 
as aliens, and had received no call to, or special prepara- 
tion for, the kingdom of heaven. “ The wedding is ready , 
but they which were bidden were not worthy ” of the invita- 
tion which had been extended to them. They “ counted 
themselves unworthy of eternal life ; ” they were too proud 
and self-sufficient to accept the offer of the proffered grace. 
They scorned the notion of appearing as “ guests,” and of 
assisting at the marriage of the king’s son. The order is 
given to the servants, “ Go ye therefore ( ovv ) into the high- 
ways, and as many as ye shall find , bid to the marriage .” 
This third mission Thiersch happily identifies “ with the 


298 THE DOOM OF DESFISERS AND ABUSERS 


appearance of the Apostle Paul ; it gained a great impulse 
after the destruction of Jerusalem, and continues until 
now.” To the same purport Isaac Williams says : “This 
evidently implies the period from the destruction of Jeru- 
salem to the end of the world ; the servants are the Apos- 
tles and ministers who are sent forth ; and all this time is 
nothing else but the calling in of the guests, for as soon as 
the Gospel has been proclaimed to all the world the end 
will come. These are from by-ways, in distinction from 
that great and royal way of Israel spoken of by the 
prophet, which was prepared for the coming of the king 
by making the crooked places straight, and the rough 
ways plain, by raising the valleys, and laying low the 
mountains.” 

The servants did as they were bidden, and “ went out 
into the highways , and gathered together all , as many as 
they found , both bad and good : and the wedding was fur- 
nished with guests.” The repetition of the words of the 
previous sentence here is not without meaning. It is the 
intention of the repetition, with its addition of “ all they 
found, both bad and good ” (“ 7 rovrjpovs re standing forth 
with emphasis ”), to call special attention to the universal 
character of the new dispensation as contrasted with the 
old. Sadler makes a good point here when he notes : 
“ This sets before us the remarkable fact that in the earli- 
est age the heathen and unbelievers were admitted to the 
Church by baptism after very little preparation, and after 
undergoing no probation — no probation at least at all to 
be compared to that which the converts of our modern 


OF ELECTION TO GRACE . 


2 99 


missionary agencies have to pass through. It was an ax- 
iom from the very first that God always conferred grace 
in baptism, so that to have required of converts the evi- 
dence of holy lives before they received baptism would 
have been to go counter to the great principle of grace. 
Grace must be first given or assigned before the truly 
Christian life could be lived.” 

This is true and cannot be too much insisted upon ; and 
yet there is a counter-truth which needs to be stated, and 
it is this which we are now to be called upon to consider. 
If grace may be rejected , as it was by the Jews and the 
men of our Lord’s own day and generation, it may also be 
abused , as it was by those who followed after, and as it is 
in our day and generation. Goebel has some exceedingly 
valuable remarks here on the structure of the parable. It 
is not true, as he observes in answer to Weiss, that the par- 
able properly comes to a close with the sending forth of 
the messengers to call in the Gentiles to take the place of 
the Jews, as it is in S. Luke : and that we are to treat the 
episode of the wedding-garment and the rejected guest as 
an extraneous addition made by S. Matthew to the para- 
ble, as it was originally set forth. Not so. Here, as else- 
where in S. Matthew, we have an undertone of judgment , 
arising out of the relation between the new and old, and 
the extravagant claims of the leaders of the Theocracy. 
The first portion of the parable deals with the days of 
John the Baptist and our Lord Himself, and the Apostles 
up to the time of the final rejection and the destruction of 
the Holy City. The second portion, beginning with the 


300 THE DOOM OF DESPISERS AND ABUSERS 

third mission, takes up the subject anew, and deals with 
the whole period after the rejection up to the time of the 
end and the final ingathering of the Gentiles, when the 
wedding was furnished with guests. It will be seen, then, 
that “the present parable,” as contradistinguished from the 
parable of the great feast in S. Luke, “ is not satisfied with 
showing in the future the decision to call the heathen (as 
the other side of the doom of rejection passed on Israel), 
but in the second section of the narrative it enters with its 
prediction upon the new epoch, now opening, for the pur- 
pose of showing how the same law, at work in the rejec- 
tion of Israel, in virtue of which the grace of God’s calling 
turned to those who abused it into the judgment of God’s 
wrath, will also be active in the new order of things in the 
case of those who by God’s will enter into the gap caused 
by Israel’s rejection. The calling of men to God’s king- 
dom will be absolutely general and indiscriminate. As 
the servants sent forth into the highways, in executing 
their commission, gathered to the marriage all they found, 
making no distinction outward or inward, collecting bad 
just as well as good, so God’s messengers sent into the 
heathen world will address themselves, with the call to 
God’s kingdom, to all without distinction, and will go so 
far in this that they will take as little notice of the dis- 
tinction of good and evil as of any outer distinction, gath- 
ering into God’s kingdom men of evil history just as well 
as those of moral integrity. . . . But when the uni- 

versality of the calling implied that none of the distinc- 
tions prevailing in the whole sphere of man’s natural life — 


OF ELECTION TO GRACE. 


301 


not even that of good and evil — is able to exclude from 
God’s kingdom, it seems as if upon the calling now con- 
cluded there must follow just as universal and indiscrim- 
inate an admission of those so gathered to participation 
in the blessedness of God’s kingdom. But it is not so. 
When the calling has come to a conclusion a judicial pro- 
cess is again applied, sifting the number of those gathered 
into the kingdom, and forever excluding a portion of them 
from its blessedness.” In other words, the truth which our 
Lord is here insisting upon is the same which He has 
from the very beginning, over and over again, made bold 
to declare. It is the duty of the Apostles, and of those 
who are put in charge of the Ministry, to bring both bad 
and good into the fold of the Church ; they are not to dis- 
criminate between the morally upright (the good), and 
the utterly reprobate (the bad). So far as being subjects 
of mercy and recipients of grace, all are alike in God’s 
sight. The entrance into the kingdom cannot be too free : 
the door cannot be too wide : the welcome cannot be too 
indiscriminate. There will come a time for discrimina- 
tion ; but it is not now. And when it is to be done, it will 
be done by the king himself in person, and by those who 
are specially appointed (Sia/covcis) for that purpose ; it is not 
to be done by the servants (SouXou?) sent forth to preach 
the glad tidings, and urge men to come in until the house 
is filled with guests. This is the teaching of the parable : 
and it is the very same teaching which we have every- 
where before met with, whensoever the object has been 
to set forth the universality of Christ’s kingdom, in oppo- 


302 THE DOOM OF DESP1SERS AND ABUSERS 


sition to the exclusive claims of the Jewish economy. 
Our Lord here reiterates the same truth ; and in so doing 
He takes occasion to bring to view the difference between 
the old and the new, and the ground of the difference be- 
tween the judgment under the two economies respective- 
ly. The Jew was rejected because he would not assist at 
the marriage. He had been called and trained for this 
very purpose, and when the time came to take part in it 
he allowed other and lower things to prevent. The Gen- 
tile, on the other hand, had received no special prepara- 
tion. It was impossible, in the nature of things, that he 
could provide suitable costume. It was not expected of 
him ; and for the reason that the bridegroom had himself, 
in the richness and fulness of his grace, provided a wed- 
ding-garment. No mention is made of this in the text, 
on the ground that it was not necessary. Eastern hospi- 
tality differed from Western in the well-established fact, 
that it was the custom of the host to furnish the festal at- 
tire, as well as the viands for the table. In the present 
case this is beyond dispute : for it was a royal feast, and it 
would be contrary to all precedent in such a case for the 
guests, and more especially for persons gathered indis- 
criminately from the cross-roads, to provide garments suit- 
able to the occasion. The dispute over the wedding-gar- 
ment is a notable instance of the barrenness of mere 
grammatical criticism. Spiritual things are to be spiritu- 
ally discerned. It is an established rule of acceptable ap- 
proach to the divine presence, that we cannot appear there 
empty or naked. It was with a view of fitting man to 


OF ELECTION TO GRACE. 


303 


offer acceptable sacrifice that God covered him with the 
skins of animal victims after he had sinned ; and sought to 
hide himself from the presence of God among the trees of 
the garden. It was for the same reason that the high- 
priest, in drawing near to the immediate presence of God, 
had to put on the golden garments. It would have been 
death for him to appear in the divine presence, divested 
of the prescribed covering. So it is in the parable. The 
entrance of the king, and the fitness to bear the vision of 
his face are joined together. No one can bear the sight 
unless he is covered, and has on a wedding-garment. 
“ The story,” Calderwood says, “ is in harmony with 
Eastern custom,” and, it may be added, with the teach- 
ings both of nature and of revelation. “And the inter- 
pretation is of deep interest, as illustrating the provision 
which God makes for sinful men whom he summons to 
the marriage-feast. As each one enters the spiritual king- 
dom, at the call of God, he is clothed in a robe which 
God has provided. Each one may exclaim, ‘ I will great- 
ly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my 
God : for he hath clothed me with the garments of salva- 
tion, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, 
as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and 
as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels’ (Isa. lxi. 10). 
The prophet gives in these words the simple and obvious 
interpretation of the ‘ wedding-garment.’ It is a robe of 
righteousness with which God clothes the man whom He 
welcomes into His presence. He who cannot look upon 
sin sends His servants to invite even the worst sinners to 


304 THE DOOM OF DESPISERS AND ABUSERS 


come to Him, and to come just as they are when the mes- 
sage finds them. But Jesus, the king’s son, has wrought 
a righteousness which may be given as a garment to all 
who seek the king’s favor, and with that, as with a robe, 
is each one covered as he enters the palace of the Great 
King. This is the divinely provided robe, in its richness 
and beauty suitable for a wedding-garment, and in its 
amplitude completely covering the worn and soiled gar- 
ments which betray the former evil condition of the 
wearer.” Thiersch says in substance the same thing : “ If 
the guests had been obliged to provide themselves with 
the festal garment, the inquiry and displeasure of the 
king would not have been intelligible to us. The man 
need not have been silent, but might have appealed to 
his poverty. Whence could people who had been picked 
up behind hedges obtain wedding-garments ? The an- 
swer is : They received them as a gift as they entered the 
king’s palace. Thus Samson gave his wedding guests 
thirty changes of raiment (Judges xiv. 12, 19). Hence 
the servants of the great king took out of his treasury 
handsome wedding-garments and delivered them to those 
who accepted the invitation, that they might appear wor- 
thily in the presence of the king. This is the arrange- 
ment made by divine wisdom and love ; they who believe 
and obey the Gospel, receive, as a first gift from the hand 
of the Lord, clean and glorious apparel ; they receive 
it as an earnest and pledge of other still more costly 
riches of the kingdom of heaven reserved for them. It is 
the robe of the innocency and righteousness of Christ, 


OF ELECTION TO GRACE. 


305 


given us in holy baptism, of unmerited grace, to which is 
added, at the reception of the sealing, a still more pre- 
cious ornament of jewels, that is, the gift of the Holy 
Ghost, and this equally of free grace, not as the reward of 
merit, but as the fruit of the atoning sufferings and glori- 
ous victory of Jesus Christ. This garment we ought to 
keep clean and white, and carefully preserve the jewelled 
ornament, that we may appear and abide before the Lord 
at His coming. These presents are bestowed by the ser- 
vants of the king. No one receives them directly from 
the king’s hand. Baptismal grace and the seal of His 
Spirit are imparted to us by the hands of His servants. 
Why, then, has this guest no wedding-garment ? Either 
he has disdained the proffered gift in the opinion that his 
own garment was good enough to appear before the king; 
or he accepted the gift, but not esteeming it of much 
value, he threw it away, or so defiled it as to make it 
incapable of being recognized.” 

It is plain, then, what our Lord is aiming at in the 
episode of the rejected guest and the wedding-garment. 
In addition to the sin of rejection, which was the sin of 
the men of our Lord’s own day and generation, there was 
another sin against which the Jewish remnant had to be 
warned, and put upon their guard. It was the sin of which 
S. Paul, in his conflict with the Judaizers of his day and 
generation complains — the substitution of their own right- 
eousness for the righteousness of Christ. It would appear 
from the connection and the general drift of the parable 

that the man which our Lord singles out for an example, 
20 


3 06 THE DOOM OF DESPISE RS AND ABUSERS 


whether Jew or Gentile, is to be regarded as one who saw 
no necessity for providing himself with a wedding-gar- 
ment ; who reasoned, as many people nowadays do, that 
his every-day clothes were good enough : not appreciating 
the fact that he was called by a special act of grace to 
assist at a wedding ; and it was a simple act of courtesy, 
due as well to the sender of the invitation, as to the bride- 
groom in whose honor the feast was given, to appear in 
the costume provided for the occasion. 

The Church has turned the principle of the parable into 
practice, by requiring that none but those who have put 
on Christ by baptism shall be admitted to the Holy Com- 
munion. The baptismal robe is intended to be of the 
nature of a wedding-garment, which may not be put on 
and put off at pleasure, but must be personally appropri- 
ated and worn at all times, as the king is liable to come 
in at any moment to see the guests. The parable, in its 
conclusion, affords a notable illustration of the difference 
between temporal and everlasting punishment. It is not 
without meaning that in the concluding portion of the 
parable it is a single person who is selected for judgment. 
Judaism as a reproclamation of the law of nature dealt 
with men en masse , as descendants of Abraham. It re- 
garded sin accordingly in its outward relationships only, 
and provided for nothing more than temporal punish- 
ment. It was a worldly religion, with a worldly sanc- 
tuary, and availed only for the purifying of the flesh. 
Christianity, on the other hand, as the manifestation of 
God in human nature, involves personal relationship. It is 


OF ELECTION TO GRACE. 


307 


a spiritual religion, for the reason that it is based not on 
law, but upon love. It is satisfied with nothing less than 
the homage of the will and the surrender of the heart. 
To resist it, accordingly, is to refuse to surrender to God 
in the appeal that He makes to our human sympathy in 
the sufferings of His own Son endured in our behalf. It 
is a last appeal. Godhead (to speak with reverence) can 
do no more ; and to refuse to receive what has been done 
in our behalf is to place ourselves beyond hope of sal- 
vation. Luthardt* has some remarks bearing upon the 
whole subject in hand, which are worthy of a thought- 
ful consideration : “ It is said the world’s history is 
the world’s judgment, and truly a divine judgment is exe- 
cuted in history, for the divine justice presides over it. 
But this is the very reason that all the judgments of his- 
tory are but a prophecy of God’s final judgment. This 
will be the universal judgment. . . . Scripture draws 

powerful and touching pictures of this last judgment, and 
tells us how the mouth of the Judge will pronounce the 
sentence which will decide the eternal lot of each. ‘ De- 
part,’ will He say to those who are lost ; 4 Come,’ to those 
who are saved. He will pronounce the condemnation or 
salvation of all.” 

“The thought of condemnation is an overwhelming 
one. It is true that He who occupies the judgment-seat is 
infinite love, but He is holy love. It is Jesus Christ, our 
Redeemer, who holds the final assize ; but the Redeemer 
is also the judge. He proclaimed this future office while 
* The Saving Truths of Christianity , pp. 265-268. 


308 the doom of despisers and abusers 


He was yet on earth. The fact that it is Jesus who will 
judge us, may assure us that divine justice will not pro- 
nounce the final sentence until eternal pity is exhausted. 
But then even pity will give place to justice. It is diffi- 
cult to us to conceive that God, who is infinite love, can 
eternally condemn. But when eternal mercy has ex- 
hausted itself upon a sinner, and all has been in vain, 
what more can be done ? Such is the greatness of human 
freedom that it is capable of resisting even God. Such 
is our great, but also our sad privilege, that our sinful 
hearts may be unconquerable even by God. The whole 
world, indeed, must bow before omnipotence, but the 
heart of man takes it upon itself not to bow to the mercy 
of the Almighty. With men a request is more powerful 
than a command ; and he who will not yield to force will 
find himself powerless to resist a humble supplication. 
But what is human entreaty compared with the entreaty 
of the Almighty, or the silent power of human love com- 
pared with the supreme power of the Saviour’s crucified 
love ? And yet the heart of man resists it ! In this re- 
spect there are limits to the power of God, limits which 
He had Himself ordained. We need to wonder not that 
God can condemn, but that man can so obstinately resist. 
Certainly, none will be lost who will let himself be saved, 
who offers even the slightest hold to divine grace. But 
for him who wholly and finally closes his heart, who 
chooses to know nothing of God, who is in entire unison 
with all that is opposed to God, the mouth of divine jus- 
tice has no other words than the complaint : “ And thou 


% 


OF ELECTION TO GRACE . 


309 


wouldst not.” As truly as God is the Holy One, and as 
truly as His holiness can have no fellowship with sin, so 
truly is he who has chosen sin for his portion excluded 
from God and from communion with Him, i.e., unsaved. 

“ For this is perdition : to be far from God, and from 
communion with Him who alone can appease the ever- 
gnawing hunger of the soul, who alone can allay the anxi- 
ety of the guilty conscience by the forgiveness of sin ; to 
be separated from God, who alone is the source of life, 
and without whom all is vanity and emptiness; who alone 
is the light of our souls, and without whom all is darkness; 
who alone is our joy and consolation, and without whom 
existence is joyless and comfortless ; to be separated from 
God and excluded from His world, to the bright purity 
of which sin and enmity against God can have no access ; 
separated from that world of true possessions which are 
the joy of life, and from that communion with the good 
which is the great enjoyment of the soul ; separated from 
God and God’s world, and cast upon one’s self alone, in 
deep and perpetual solitude, in that dark and deadly si- 
lence where the sinful soul has no society but the torment 
of memory and night of despair, and to be thus alone, and 
eternally alone, is perdition.” No words could more ad- 
mirably express the fulness of meaning contained in the 
words, “ Bind him hand and foot , and take him away , and 
cast him into outer darkness : there shall be weeping and 
gnashing of teeth.” 

It is not the same thing to be called and invited of 
God to share in the privileges of His kingdom, and to be 


310 THE BOOM OF DESPISE RS AND ABUSERS 


chosen by Him, at the last, to share in the glory of His 
elect. “ So little do the two coincide that the first applies 
to the very great number of men, whereas the second can 
only be affirmed of a comparatively small number. This 
is the moral which our Lord Himself draws from the 
whole parable: “ Many are called , but few are chosen 

“ Looking back from this point on the whole of the 
narrative, we see at once that it consists of two sections, 
each one having an independent import. For after the 
part begun with verse 2 had reached a complete conclusion 
with verse 9, verse 10 commenced a new, independent sec- 
tion, so that each of the two parts might fitly be regarded 
as a complete parable by itself. And yet the two sec- 
tions, as they are here joined together, form but one nar- 
rative, not only outwardly, but also intrinsically, the 
second section presenting itself, because of the resem- 
blance in its incidents to those of the other, not merely 
as an appendix outwardly connected, but also as a real 
intrinsic continuation of what precedes. If the essential 
import of the first part was this, that the guests first in- 
vited, nevertheless, did not actually partake in the feast, 
but drew on themselves the wrath of the king by their 
disobedience to the call at the decisive hour, and were 
the cause of strangers being invited in their place, this 
result is now extended, in the second part, to the effect 
that even among the guests gathered by indiscriminate 
invitation some were found who must be excluded from 
sharing in the feast because appearing without the right 
dress. If, then, we remember that Jesus spoke the par- 


OF ELECTION TO GRACE. 


3 


able primarily to the hostile leaders of the Jewish people, 
and also (seeing that the parable belongs to the time of 
His last public teaching in the Temple) before a listening 
group of people, among whom individuals receptive to His 
word were not wanting, and again, before His disciples, 
who always accompanied Him in those days, it is clear 
that each of the two parts of the parable is adapted to a 
different class of hearers, while at the same time they 
contain some common truth which Jesus desires to speak 
to hearers of both kinds in one connected narrative. The 
first part is addressed to hearers of the first class, as lead- 
ing representatives of the Israelitish people, since the first 
invited, just like the similar category in the parable of the 
great banquet, and the wicked vine-dressers in the preced- 
ing parable, are meant to symbolize the people of Israel as 
the people of the Theocracy. The second part, on the 
other hand, is addressed to hearers of the second class, of 
whom Jesus may hope that, individually, they are free 
from the decided enmity of their nation to Jesus, and will 
willingly be gathered with the heathen into God’s king- 
dom. The common teaching, in which the entire import 
of the parable is summed up, is this : The grace of the 
divine calling by no means gives security of participating 
in the kingdom of God ; on the contrary , to all who abuse it 
the grace will turn into the condemnation of wrath. And 
the special purpose of the first part is to tell the leaders 
of Israel that this principle will be proved first in the 
Israelitish people, who first received the grace of God’s 
call. The members of this nation, by continued resist- 


312 THE DOOM OF DESPISERS AND ABUSERS 


ance to the call to enter God’s kingdom, will cause God’s 
sentence of destruction to burst upon them, and strangers 
will be called to God’s kingdom in their stead. But to 
the individuals among His hearers who are not unwilling 
for themselves to obey the call, He says in the second 
part, that even in the period now opening, the same prin- 
ciple will prevail. He shows them that, despite the in- 
discriminate gathering of all classes of men into God’s 
kingdom, at last every one not found with the character 
alone qualifying for participation in God’s kingdom will 
be again cast out by God into damnation.” * 


NOTES. 

Ver. 2. — “ The perfect, oixolaQ-q, is used, as the epoch has already begun 
its course which the following parable exhibits and describes in its conse- 
quences” (Goebel). The avOpcimp f}a<ri\ei of S. Matthew is in contrast to 
the ''Avdpuirds ( ns ) of S. Luke. In S. Matthew the kingly relation is the 
more prominent ; in S. Luke it is the human side which is brought out. 

In the phrase iroieiu yd/xovs , the plural has reference to the series of mar- 
riage festivities. It is true that yd/xos is often used in the sense of a feast, 
as in Gen. xxix. 22 ; here it is not a banquet in general that is spoken of, 
but the marriage of the king’s son. It was an Eastern custom to send out 
first an invitation on. the announcing of the event, and then to repeat the 
invitation when all things were in actual readiness. 

Ver. 3 . — Kai ovk tfOeAcv e\6e?u : not simply they would not come, nolue- 
runt , but they persistently refused to come, nolebant ; ‘ ‘ quod dicit permanen- 
tem ac perseverantem voluntatem sere potius nolitionem.” 

Ver. 4. — *I 8 o 2 > rb apiardv fxov r/Toi/xaica. ‘'Apio'Toy is properly the first 
breakfast (jentaculum) ; but among the later Greeks and in the New Testa- 
ment denotes the luncheon (prandium), taken in the course of the dav 
before the principal meal. It is here used to signify the beginning of the 

* Goebel, The Parables of Jesus , p. 364. 


OF ELECTION TO GRACE. 


313 


marriage festivities, in contrast with the “marriage supper (detirvov) of the 
Lamb,” which concludes the marriage festivities, and marks the close of the 
dispensation. The preponderating evidence would seem to be in favor of 
reading olfxaKa (perf.), instead of r)Toip.a<ra (aor. ) : Behold my luncheon I 

have in readiness. 

Vss. 5, 6. — “In order to get at the speaker’s meaning, we must supply an 
o\ [xiv in the introduction of the first sentence, not, however, after, but before 
the participle d/j.€\-fj<ravres, where it was naturally omitted by the speaker 
himself, just because of the obvious harshness with which it would stand 
immediately after oi 8e, so that it is now embodied in the ot de, and the oi de 
itself acquires a particular sense, which only becomes evident to the reader 
afterward by the contrasting of oi 5e \oirot. It is just the same, e.g. , in 
Luke ix. 19: oi- 5e air OKp Sevres elirov . . . &W 01 de, k.t.A. Thus in the 
speaker’s meaning oi de a/meX^aavres is to be translated at once in the par- 
ticular sense: ‘ And some making light of it went their ways, one to his 
own field, another to his merchandise j and the rest seizing his servants ,’ ” 
etc. — Goebel. 

Ver. 7. — “The reading 6 0 aatXevs upyiaOrj is to be regarded as genuine ; 
the reading of the Recepta, d«<Was Se 6 j8. upv., is a supplementary gloss, 
right in substance.” — Goebel. 

Yer. 9. — “8ie|e5 01 ruv ddcov, Matt. xxii. 9, lit., ways through which ways go 
out, i. e. , according to the context and the design of the parable, places before 
the city where the roads from the country terminate, therefore outlets of the 
country highways, the same being also their entrances [cf. Obad. 14 ; Ezek. 
xxi. 21 ; the R. V. renders it partings of the highways]. The phrase fre- 
quently represents the territory of heathen nations, into which the Apostles 
were about to go forth (as is well shown by Fischer, De Vitiis lexx, New 
Testament, p. 634 sqq.).” — Thayer’s Lexicon of the New Testa?nent. 




IV. 


%BchixtoloQxcul gamWjes : 

A FAREWELL ADDRESS TO THE APOSTLES 
ON THE LAST THINGS. 


I. glxjc Qwo JftjeuxaxxcXs. 

II. $Iue XiSlisc atxxX tlxc g^oXisIx Wxxqxuz. 
ill. JTxe Jgatmis 0xwctx itx gjmst. 

IV. glxje Jxcparatixnt of tlxc islxc^x atxxl tlxc (Sxnxts. 








ESCHATOLOGICAL PARABLES. 


We have reached, in the course of our investigation, 
the last great parabolic cycle, with which S. Matthew 
concludes his account of our Lord’s prophetical discourse 
upon the destruction of Jerusalem, and the end of the 
world. It will be remembered that after pronouncing the 
seven woes upon the Pharisees, and the taking up of His 
lament over the Holy City, Jesus went out with His dis- 
ciples into the Mount of Olives. It was while He sat 
there, contemplating the scene beneath His feet, in which 
city and temple shone resplendent under the rays of the 
setting sun, that one of the disciples broke in upon His 
meditations, saying, “ Master, behold what manner of 
stones, and what manner of buildings! ” Herod’s temple, 
as we know from the description of Josephus, was one of 
the wonders of the world. The walls of marble spotless 
in their whiteness, and its gilded turrets shone with such 
a fiery splendor that when the eye gazed upon it, it 
turned away as from the rays of the sun. Judging from 
its foundation-stones, the temple was built to last forever. 
There were stones as much as forty-five cubits in length, 
five in height, and six in breadth. Well might the disci- 
ple say, “ Master, what manner of stones ! ” What must 
have been his surprise to get for an answer, “ There shall 
not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not 
be thrown down.” Surely a most remarkable proph- 
ecy ! It was “ uttered in a time of profound peace, when 


318 


ESC HA TOL O GICA L PA RA BLES. 


nobody” (and the disciples least of all) “dreamed of the 
possibility of the destruction of such a work of art and 
sanctuary of religion as the temple at Jerusalem.” It was 
a “ prophecy literally fulfilled forty years after its utter- 
ance, fulfilled by Jewish fanatics and Roman soldiers, in 
express violation of the order of Titus, one of the most 
humane of Roman emperors (called delicice humani gen- 
eris ) , who wished to save it.” 

We see in the withdrawal of Jesus to the seclusion of 
the Mount of Olives, and the question of the disciples, an- 
other illustration of that providential ordering of events 
so often to be met with in the three years of ministry. 
The contemplation of the scene in the quiet even-tide, 
while the shadows were gathering around it, and the won- 
der called forth by the answer given to the sense of na- 
tional pride which found expression in the exclamation of 
the disciple, led Peter and James and John and Andrew 
— the chief of the inner circle of the disciples — to put to 
Jesus privately the question, “When shall these things 
be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the 
end of the world ? ” 

The response given to these questions furnishes us with 
an admirable illustration of the method of our Lord’s 
teaching, more especially in the relation which His para- 
bolic sayings bear to the parables properly so called, and 
in the way in which both parabolic sayings and parables 
are made to illustrate His didactic teaching. In the great 
prophetical discourse of S. Matt. xxiv. — the crux of exe- 
getes from the beginning until our own day — we have the 
answer given to the question of the disciples about the 
destruction of Jerusalem, and the end of the world. With 
the prophetical and didactic element of the discourse we 
have nothing now to do. It is sufficient for our purpose 


ESCHATOLOGICAL EATABLES. 


319 


to call attention to the fact that our Lord here, as in the 
Sermon on the Mount at the beginning, illustrates His 
meaning by the use of parabolic sayings which are com- 
plementary of each other, and serve the purpose of an in- 
troduction to the series of parables which follow immedi- 
ately after. 

1. Two elements, according to the first of these illustra- 
tions, enter into what is commonly known as the Parousia, 

or Second Advent of our Lord. It has its 

The Lightning . .... 

shining out of the heavenly side, and it has its earthly side. It 

may be compared on its heavenly side to 
“the lightning,” which “cometh out of the east and shin- 
eth even unto the west.” The illustration, as the con- 
text in its warning against deceivers who would draw men 
away after them into the desert, apart from the world, or 
would entice them to practise secret arts to unveil the 
mysteries of the future, serves to show that the manifesta- 
tion of Christ in the Parousia is to be of a kind that, when 
it comes, will be seen and known of all men. There is 
no need, therefore, to betake one’s self to the desert because 
of it ; nor to enter into secret investigations to find it out. 
And again, it is to be sudden and unexpected in its ap- 
pearance. It cannot be calculated beforehand, nor can its 
approach be anticipated any more than the lightning 
when it strikes and sends forth its shaft from the bosom 
of the cloud. It is, moreover, universal and world-reaching 
in its extent. When it shines forth it will shine forth 
from one end of the world to the other. It is not to be 
looked for in a corner, nor will its signs be of a local char- 
acter. It is of the nature of a world-movement, and does 
not belong to any one place or country. 

2. The Parousia, on its earthly side, is to be compared 
to the gathering of the eagles around the carcass that is 


320 


ESCHATOLOGICAL EATABLES. 


lying rotting in the sun. It is associated always with 
periods of corruption and decay in the world’s history, 
and is to be marked by national judgments, 
ering around the like the Roman eagles, when they gathered 

Carcass. . 

around the Holy City to its destruction ; or 
the hordes of barbarians, which in turn swooped down 
from the North when the Eternal City was ripe for ruin. 
It will be noted both in the case of the lightning and the 
eagle, that they act as agents for the purification of soci- 
ety, as well as instruments of vengeance. 

But there is another side to the Parousia besides the 
coming to judgment. Two things, Roos tells us, are al- 
ways to be found in Holy Scripture indissolubly joined 
together — judgment and salvation. It was so at the pe- 
riod of the flood. The world, which then was, perished 
beneath the waters ; but Noah and his family — the believ- 
ing remnant — were saved, to become the seed of a new 
world of regenerate humanity. So it was also in the de- 
struction of the cities of the plain, when God rained down 
fire and brimstone on the wicked inhabitants of Sodom 
and Gomorrah. The prayer of Abraham availed much, 
for the angels led Lot out in safety from the doomed vale. 
And so, as our Lord here intimates, it will be to the end. 
When Jerusalem falls, the “ little flock ” have nothing to 
fear : on the contrary, they are to “ rejoice ” and “ lift up 
their heads,” for then it is that the time of their “redemp- 
tion draweth nigh.” Hitherto, the development and 
growth of the Messianic kingdom had been 
f P; 'forth itls^ds more than as the vernal swelling of the 

branches of a fig-tree, with its putting forth 
of tender buds, and young green leaves. It was some- 
thing, however, that the barren tree, which once bore only 


ESC HA TOLOGICA L PARABLES. 


321 


leaves, but no fruit, had begun to sprout again, and was 
showing signs of returning life. It is of faith to believe 
that the summer’s heat will follow the vernal equinox; 
and the tree which now only is decked with soft buds and 
tender leaves will in time yield abundant fruit. This, in 
the parable, is the meaning and significance of the budding 
fig-tree, herald of the summer solstice, which at a first 
glance seems so out of place in the chapter, which speaks 
of the approach of war and famine and pestilence; and 
describes with so much power the gathering of the Roman 
armies around the doomed city of Jerusalem. The 
thought, it will be observed, which our Lord suggests 
by the image of the budding fig-tree, is that there is an- 
other side to the Parousia. To the world, it is a coming 
in judgment ; but to the Church, it is the sign and promise 
of better things. Olshausen here calls attention to the 
fact that the idea of growth and natural development 
now takes the place of the lightning-flash and the swoop 
of the eagle. We have the idea of times and seasons in- 
troduced, and it is intimated that the Parousia, on its re- 
demptive side, is to be a thing of long continuance. The 
coming of Jesus in power and majesty to destroy Jeru- 
salem is only the beginning of a series of deliverances of 
His elect — judgment following after judgment — deliver- 
ance upon deliverance — until the whole number of the 
elect are gathered in, and the plan of God in history 
comes to its final conclusion, in the final appearing at the 
last day. In other words, in thinking of the Parousia 
we are not only to think of divine power manifesting 
itself in judgment ; but we are to think also of the divine 
love and goodness ; and of the growth of the Church by a 
steady process of ripening and spiritual experience toward 
perfection. “ The point of the comparison,” it has been 


322 


ESC HA TOL O GICA L PA RA BLES. 


well said, “ lies in the comparison of the signs of the times 
to the first buds of the fig-tree. This comparison implies 
that the last judgment is not the thing which is at the 
doors. The last day is the harvest season, but from the 
first buds of the early summer to the harvest there is a 
long interval.” 

The Parousia, or Second Advent of our Lord, then, as 
He now intimates to His disciples, is not to be limited 
either to the judgment upon Jerusalem and the nations 
of the earth upon the one side, nor to the last final act of 
universal judgment upon the other. It is of the nature 
of a continual process rather, which begins with the down- 
fall of the Holy City, and goes on continuously to the end, 
making itself manifest as the lightning does by its sudden 
flash at times, until at length the world is prepared for 
judgment, and the Church, through much tribulation and 
by many deliverances, is at length made ready for her eter- 
nal union with the Bridegroom. Between the coming to 
Jerusalem , and the appearing at the last day , there inter- 
venes the ingathering of the Gentiles and the conversion of 
the world , with all that is implied m it. This, however, 
was a thought for which the minds of the Apostles were 
but imperfectly prepared. They expected a sudden and 
immediate conquest. They looked indeed for a victory 
over the nations ; but they had little or no conception of a 
process of salvation accompanied by judgment. They did 
not see, and they could not at the moment understand, 
how the Parousia was so near, and yet so far off— near in 
its beginning, so far as the men of their own day and gen- 
eration was concerned— far off when viewed from the stand- 
point of the ingathering of the whole number of the elect 
among the Gentiles, as well as among the Jews. Nor was 
it necessary that they should understand all this. For 


ESCHATOLOGICAL EATABLES. 


323 


so far as the day and hour of the coming is concerned, 
it was a secret which God kept to Himself. Nor is the 
withholding of the secret without reason. We know from 
experience, as in the case of the Millerites, that if men 
knew with anything like positive certainty what time 
they had reason to expect their Lord’s coming, it would 
defeat the whole purpose served by the economy of pro- 
bation. They would at once abandon their worldly call- 
ings, as men in the tenth century did, and give themselves 
up to idle waiting for the approaching end. It was to 
guard against this abuse of the doctrine of the Parousia 
that our Lord addressed to His Apostles the parables of 
the Two Stewards, the Wise and the Foolish Virgins, the 
Talents given in Trust, and the Sheep and the Goats. 
It will be observed that in every case two parties are repre- 
sented — the faithful and the faithless — the wise and the 
foolish — the diligent and the slothful — the sheep and the 
goats. Another marked characteristic of these parables 
is the reference made in every case (except the last), to 
the delay which is to ensue before the final advent. It 
is because his lord delayeth his coming, that the wicked 
servant begins to beat his fellow-servants. The foolish 
virgins make no provision for the long-continued delay 
of the bridegroom, and allow their lamps to go out. It 
is after a “ long time ” that the servants are called upon 
to give an account of the talents intrusted to their 
keeping. It is evident that throughout the Master is 
preparing the minds of His disciples for a long and pro- 
tracted period of delay : meantime they are to watch. 
Thrice the injunction is repeated: “watch therefore!” 
And Christian watchfulness is not idle expectancy. It is 
not like the isolation of the Indian devotee, who with- 
draws himself from the world and its concerns, and gives 


324 


ESC HA TOL O GICA L PA PA BEES . 


himself up to dreaming of Nirvana. On the contrary, 
Christian watchfulness consists in the diligent and faith- 
ful discharge of the stewardship which the 
sZardZ absent Lord has imposed upon those to whom 
He has committed the care of the “ little 
flock” He has left in the world. He has begun the 
work ; they are to carry it on. Their task is set ; their 
work is given them ; the tools necessary for its accom- 
plishment have been placed in their hands. They 
are to watch as those who shall have to give an ac- 
count. 

They are to regard themselves as persons called to 
assist at a wedding. Their duty is to keep their lamps 
trimmed and their lights burning. They are 
tiZoZhvir- to remember that the Church is like a city 
&lHS ' set on an hill : and they are to let their light 

“shine that men may see their good works, and glorify 
their Father which is in heaven.” They are not to 
make the fatal mistake of regarding the state of grace, 
as a state of privilege intended for repose; but as an 
opportunity afforded for making increase of the grace 
given, by putting it to use in ministering to the wants 
of others. It is for this Christ has left His Church in 
the world, and bestowed upon it the grace of the Holy 
Spirit. 

They are then to regard their official character as of the 
nature of a talent committed to their trust. They are 
to be diligent, and to seek to multiply the 
ZenZrrust. g race bestowed upon them : they are to play 
the part of good money-changers, and put 
their talents out at interest, that their lord, when he re- 
turns, may get his own with usury. 

When the elect are all gathered in, then will come the 


ESC HA TOL OGICAL PA RA BLES. 


325 


great assize, when the Son of Man shall come in His 
glory, and all His holy angels with Him ; and then He 
shall sit upon the throne of His glory, and 
aid* th7 a dh>idfng before Him shall be gathered all nations 
°fheGoats? ep and (for the times of the Gentiles has been ful- 
filled) ; and He shall separate them from 
one another, as a shepherd distinguishes between the 
sheep and the goats. 



XIV. 


£1xc ^aio jsteuumls. 






XIV. 


y £\xc Qwo JtcivavxTs. 


THE APOSTLES ARE TO WATCH AS THOSE WHO MUST 
GIVE AN ACCOUNT. 

Who then is a (the) faithful and wise servant, servants, and to eat and drink with the 
whom his lord hath made ruler over his drunken : the lord of that servant shall come 
household, to give them meat in due season ? in a day when he looketh not for him, and in 
Blessed is that servant, whom his lord, when an hour that he is not aware of, and shall 
he cometh, shall find so doing. Verily I say cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion 
unto you, That he shall make him ruler over with the hypocrites ; there shall be weeping 
all his goods. But and if that evil servant and gnashing of teeth. — S. Matt. xxiv. 45- 
shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his 51. 
coming ; and shall begin to smite his fellow- 

“ Who then is a (the) faithful and wise servant , whom 
his lord hath made ruler over his household , to give them 
meat in due season ? ” It is with this searching question 
that our Lord brings to a conclusion His great Eschato- 
logical discourse, and enters upon the series of parables 
which have to do with His second Advent. He reminds 
the Apostles of the confidence He has had in them, and of 
the trust He has imposed upon them ; and expresses the 
hope that they will continue faithful to the end. But the 
form of the question, which he adopts for this purpose, is 
intended to suggest, in a delicate and considerate way, the 
possibility of its being otherwise. He would not have 
chosen them if He had not found them faithful; He would 


330 


THE APOSTLES ARE TO WATCH 


not have put them over His household, if He had not be- 
lieved they would be wise in their administration of His 
affairs, and give to each their meat in due season . “ Thus 

would every wise earthly master act, not selecting a favor- 
ite, or leaving the appointment to chance, or some heredi- 
tary claim, but promoting one judged to be faithful and 
intelligent to have the management of affairs.” The writer 
just quoted notes, that the “Twelve had been selected by 
our Lord Himself, after long and earnest prayer, as those 
whom He judged the best fitted of His disciples for the 
office to which He appointed them. We trace, then, here 
a principle of appointment or succession to office in the 
Church and household of Christ different from that of 
natural descent, by which the religious organization was 
determined under the law; and this principle is a judgment 
as to the character and fitness of him who is appointed to 
the office.”* The omission of the article in our English 
version is unfortunate, as depriving the question of its 
point : — Who will realize, in practice, the ideal which the 
master of the household had in making choice of fit per- 
sons to serve in his absence ? It is this which, in leaving 
them, Jesus wants His disciples to consider. They are to 
aim high : they are to leave nothing undone to fulfil His 
expectations in making the choice He did in selecting 
them. The Codex Sinaiticus, in substituting the future 
(icaTao-Trjo-et,) for the past ( Kareo-rrjcre ), ignores the fact that 
our Lord is here addressing His Apostles as persons He 
has already placed in trust. As Lange says : “ The Lord 

* Cotterell on The Genesis of the Church , p. 133. 


AS THOSE WHO MUST GIVE AN ACCOUNT. 33 1 


shows in a parable that the judgment will begin upon 
those in office in the Church.” Sadler says to the same 
effect : “ This parable seems especially uttered for the sake 
of those who have the sacred trust of the ministry of God’s 
word and sacraments committed to them, being made by 
Christ rulers over His household. Such are ‘ stewards 
of the mysteries of God.’ They have to dispense the 
mysteries of His word, holding back nothing, for 4 all 
scripture is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correc- 
tion, for instruction in righteousness,’ and yet using a wise 
economy, setting the mysteiy of the Gospel (and the Gos- 
pel is essentially a mystery, Ephes. iii. 4, 5, 6 ; vi. 19) be- 
fore men as they are able to bear it ; an economy which 
Christ Himself used.” There is a temptation here to con- 
fine the language of the parable exclusively to spiritual 
things : but Origen, with a broader view of the pastoral 
care — suggested doubtless by the condition of the Church 
in his own time — gives the truer meaning : “ To give food 
in due season,” he says, “ calls for prudence in a man ; not 
to take away the food of the needy requires faithfulness. 
And this, the literal sense, obliges us to do, that we be 
faithful in disbursing the revenues of the Church, that we 
destroy not that which belongs to the widows, that we re- 
member the poor, and that we do not take occasion from 
that which is written, ‘ The Lord hath ordained that they 
which preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel,’ to seek 
more than plain food and necessary clothing, or to keep 
more for ourselves than we give to those who suffer want. 
And that we be prudent to understand the case of them 


332 


THE APOSTLES ARE TO WATCH 


that are in need, whence they come to be so, what has 
been their education, and what are the necessities of each. 
It needs much prudence to distribute fairly the revenues 
of the Church. 

“ Also let the servant be faithful and prudent that he 
lavish not the intellectual and spiritual food on those he 
ought not, but dispense according as each has need ; to 
one is more behoveful that word which will edify his be- 
havior and guide his practice than that which sheds a ray 
of science ; but to others, who can pierce more deeply, let 
him not fail to expound the deep things, lest if he set be- 
fore them common things, he be despised by such as have 
naturally keener understandings, or have been sharpened 
by the discipline of worldly learning.” 

The application thus made by Origen to the dispensing 
of the revenues of the Church, as well as to the distribu- 
tion of intellectual and spiritual food, would agree with 
what we know to have been the exigencies of the Church 
during the era of the persecutions, when clergy and 
widows and orphans and martyrs, and confessors in 
prison, and the sick and strangers, were all maintained 
out of a common fund, and that fund was placed in the 
hands of the Bishop for distribution.* The two great re- 
quirements of a Bishop, at such a time, were faithfulness 
in the management of his Master’s goods and prudence 
in the mode of their distribution. 

Stier gives the more modern interpretation : “ The meat 
which the steward placed over the domestic servants is 

* See Bingham's Antiquities , vol. v., cap. vi. 


AS THOSE WHO MUST GIVE AN ACCOUNT. 333 


to give out, is His word for his servants, all labor of love 
toward the brethren, according to the talent of grace 
given to him, which is here to be profitably employed for 
us all. The article ttjv rpocf) 7 jv means here the same which 
at Luke xii. is called to anropLeTpLov , and points to the 
opOorop,€Lv (2 Tim. xi. 15) in its entire, full signification: 
To every one his due, undiminished and unadulterated, 
wisely and faithfully, according to need and right. The 
iv KCLipO) beside it has the like twofold signification, at 
the just and fitting season, so that it is neither neglect- 
fully withheld nor inconsiderately given in over-abun- 
dance.” This is good as far as it goes, but it does not 
cover the whole of the ground, in the case of either 
servant, in the concluding portion of the parable. The 

faithful servant, as a reward, is made “ ruler over all 

«• 

his (master’s) goods.” When Lange says, “ The office is 
the office of ruler only in so far as it actually imparts 
spiritual food in the office of teacher,” he gives a mean- 
ing to the term “ goods ” ( to £? vi rdp^ovaiv), which it 
will be found nowhere else to bear. And then when it 
is said of the “ wicked servant ” that he begins in his 
unbelief “ to smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and 
drink with the drunken,” this surely cannot apply to 
mere spiritual things. The sins here mentioned are not 
the faults of a teacher, but the vices of a ruler. It is 
not the corrupting of the faith which is spoken of, but 
smiting and tyrannizing over one’s fellow-servants, and 
using the property of the Church for revelry and drunk- 
enness. S. Paul says of a Bishop that he is to be no 


334 


THE APOSTLES APE TO WATCH 


“ striker ; ” he says also that he is not to be “ given to 
wine.” 

The Twenty-eighth Apostolic Canon is an enactment 
based on the words of S. Paul ; and throughout the whole 
of the canons of the earlier Ecumenical and Provincial 
Councils, we have enactments requiring the Bishop to 
make a careful distribution of the goods of the Church 
among the inferior clergy and the poor, reserving to 
himself only a fourth part of the whole. 

It will always be found that the imagery of our Lord’s 
parables is not chosen at random, but expresses with ex- 
actness the idea intended to be conveyed. When the 
kingdom, then, is spoken of, as it is in our parable, under 
the name of a household, with its upper and under ser- 
vants occupied in domestic cares, we have represented 
that earlier and simpler, but at the same time more real, 
view of Church life, when the clergy were not simply 
teachers or preachers, but had the responsibility imposed 
upon them of caring for the bodies, as well as for the souls, 
of those committed to their care. It was the time when 
deacons were really servers of tables, and the Agape was 
a true love-feast, in which poor and rich met together. It 
was the time when, as a necessary consequence of the 
persecutions, the Church had thrown upon her the main- 
tenance of widows and orphans and strangers ; when she 
recognized the duty of hospitality as a Christian duty, 
and had her own ships for the transportation of corn and 
grain, as we are told of the Church of Alexandria in the 
days of John the Almoner. When our Lord provided for 


AS THOSE V/HO MUST GIVE AN ACCOUNT. 335 

a common fund, and required the rich to cast their all into 
the Lord’s treasury, He was not, as some would have it, 
building up ideals, or laying the foundation of communis- 
tic brotherhoods : He was providing for what He knew 
would be a practical want of the Church in the days 
which He warned His disciples were near at hand. 
There is truth in what Weiss observes when he says : “The 
kingdom of God was not regarded by Jesus as a purely 
religious community, but as the religious consummation 
of national existence, in which each section would place 
its circumstances and possessions at the service of God, to 
be ordered and employed according to His will. He who 
does not use his temporal goods, looking the while at the 
perfected consummation of the kingdom of God, with- 
draws them from aiding in this endeavor, and so hin- 
ders the attainment of that end.” In other words, when 
our Lord reproaches the Pharisees for their covetousness, 
and the mass of the Jewish people for their inordinate 
love of riches, He is not preaching against riches, or prop- 
erty, or worldly possessions, in the abstract ; but against 
that selfishness and love of ease, which, in view of a great 
necessity, and of the crisis which was coming upon the 
Jewish Church and people, would not recognize the claims 
which He made upon the leaders of the Theocracy in be- 
half of the suffering Church, which He knew to be near 
at hand. There is again, then, truth in the statement of 
Weiss, when he tells us (in speaking of the parable of the 
Unjust Steward, and of the saying, “ He that is faithful in 
* Life of Christ, vol. ii., pp. 252, 253. 


336 


THE APOSTLES ARE TO WATCH 


a very little is faithful also in much,”) that Jesus “ regards 
temporal and spiritual possessions, as well as the tasks 
of earthly existence and of the kingdom of God, not as 
belonging to two distinct spheres, but as forming two 
separate sides of the one duty of discipleship, whose nature 
is genuine fidelity toward God, and unconditioned and 
therefore exclusive obedience to His will ; and from this 
Jesus drew the inference that if His followers were un- 
faithful in the employment of temporal possessions, which 
to a subject of the kingdom were unattractive, God could 
not intrust them with the higher possessions which be- 
longed to them in their capacity.” These words of Weiss, 
foreign as they are to our way of looking at things, are 
calculated to throw light upon the meaning of our Lord 
in the parable. When He promises the faithful servant 
that if he will be true to the obligations imposed by his 
household care, and will give to “ each their portion of 
meat in due season ,” He “ will make him ruler over all that 
he hath ,” He promises to reward the Twelve, for their 
honest discharge of duty, with a position of greater 
honor; and more absolute sovereignty in the Messianic 
kingdom. He is speaking, in the first place, of the time 
which was to elapse between His own departure and the 
downfall of the Theocratic state. It was to be a period of 
persecution and trial to the Church, and the Apostles 
will, of necessity, be involved in much of the nature of 
secular care. But when the time comes for the setting 
up of the kingdom upon the ruins of the old Theocracy, 
and the acknowledgment of Christianity as a power and 


AS THOSE WHO MUST GIVE AN ACCOUNT. 337 


influence in the world — if the Apostles will do their duty 
in the earlier stage, and accept the burden imposed upon 
them by caring for those who are under the ban of perse- 
cution, and have consequently to be provided with food 
and clothing and shelter — they will be more than rewarded 
for all their trouble when the day comes, that the Church 
will be acknowledged by the powers of the world, as the 
only organization able to effect the restoration of social 
order. It is not, then, of the world to come, but of the 
age to come, that our Lord speaks when He promises the 
Apostles and their successors that they will be put in the 
position of rulers, and have committed to their care, ac- 
cording to the measure they may have used their talents, 
the oversight of “ five ” and of “ ten cities.” It is a prom- 
ise which was literally fulfilled in the middle ages, when 
princes like Charlemagne put Bishops over towns and 
cities, as the only men to be found capable of the duties of 
civil government. 

Meyer calls attention to the peculiar structure of the 
parable, and its abrupt breaking off when we would natur- 
ally look for a more detailed description of the “ faithful 
and wise servant.” But it is not the object of the parable 
to call attention to the wise and faithful servant. The 
question about the finding of such is intended only to 
serve the purpose of preparing us for the description of 
“ that evil servant,” who says “ in his heart, My lord de- 
layeth his coming ; ” and begins “ to smite his fellow-ser- 
vants, and to eat and drink with the drunken.” The 

great aim of the parable is to prepare the minds of the 
22 


338 


THE APOSTLES APE TO WATCH 


disciples for the long delay which is to take place between 
the commencement and the close of the second Advent, 
and to warn them against the temptation of settling down 
in consequence into a state of ease and self-indulgence.' 
It is the very element of uncertainty which men find 
fault with, and are continually trying by various means to 
overcome, which constitutes the moral value of the mys- 
tery associated with the second Advent, and it is purposely 
intended of God so to be. “ But know this, that if the 
goodman of the house had known in what watch the 
thief would come, he would have watched and would not 
have suffered his house to be broken up ! ” Let the reader 
notice how the root idea of the discourse is preserved 
throughout, and pervades the conclusion. The great les- 
son of the discourse is watchfulness ; and so preparedness 
for the second Advent : not going out and gazing up 
into heaven for the signs, but fulfilling our duty, as if our 
account was to be rendered and our Lord might come at 
any moment. “ It is manifest that such a state of mind 
would be the guard, the preservative, the incentive of true 
Christianity in the soul ; and so, if the contrary takes place, 
if a man, or especially a minister, falls away, if he begins 
to oppress, to rule or tend the flock for his own personal 
advantage, to be self-indulgent and worldly, this is be- 
cause he is wilfully forgetting or ignoring the account he 
has to give.” * 

The parable in the concluding portion assumes a pro- 
phetical character. Our Lord speaks of “ that evil servant” 

* Sadler. 


AS THOSE WHO MUST GIVE AN ACCOUNT. 339 


(6 fcarco<; S0GX09 i/cecvo 9)* in a way that is “ prophetically sig- 
nificant.” The root of the evil conduct of the unfaithful 
steward is unbelief ; but it is an unbelief which his official 
position forbids his openly avowing, and so it is said that 
he gives utterance to it only in his “heart.” The result as 
described is twofold : 1. There is his conduct toward his 
fellow-servants (tov 9 crvvSovXovs avrov ) ; he bullies and 
beats them instead of giving them nourishment. 2. He 
is lax in his dealings w r ith the members of the household 
generally, and the guests, with whom he engages in all 
manner of riot and debauchery. The picture, it has been 
observed, is that of a “ brutal tyrant and drunken profli- 
gate,” and represents “ a profligate clergy lording it over 
God’s heritage, dissolute in life, sceptical in reference to 
the future glory of the kingdom and all great Christian 
verities, and guilty of grossest hypocrisy in combining the 
exercise of sacred functions with a total lack of personal 
faith and holiness. It takes a long time to develop such a 
deplorable state of matters. Not at the beginning of a 
religious movement, not in its creative epoch, do such 
scandalous phenomena make their appearance ; but when 
the spiritual force has to a large extent spent itself, and 
its effects have taken their place among the institutions of 
the world, as at the conversion of the Roman empire un- 
der Constantine, and the establishment of Christianity 
as the religion of the state. When He drew the picture 
Christ must have been looking far beyond the apostolic 

* The ineivos is not only 8eiKTuc<2s, but is prophetically significant. — 
Lange. 


340 


THE APOSTLES ARE TO WATCH 


age, for any one of ordinary sagacity, not to speak of 
prophetic prescience, might understand that the degen- 
eracy depicted could not appear then in a form intense 
and extensive enough to make it worth while to construct 
a parable concerning it. The delay of the Master’s com- 
ing must have meant for Him a lengthened period, during 
which the kingdom was to pass through a process of se- 
cular development, in the course of which hideous forms 
of evil, as well as new forms of good, would manifest 
themselves.” * 

The punishment threatened is so peculiar in its nature 
that we would seem justified in seeing hidden under it 
a reference to the divisions and schisms which history 
proves to be invariably the result of worldliness and lux- 
urious living on the part of persons placed in authority in 
the Church. “ The lord of that servant shall come in a 
day when he looketh not for him , and in an hour that he is 
not aware of \ and shall cut him asunder {bigoTourjo-ei), and 
appoint him his portion with the hypocrites ; there shall 
be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” “ It is,” as Lange 
notes, “ emphatically the punishment of the Theocracy — 
cutting in two, sawing asunder (i Sam. xv. 23 ; 2 Sam. 

xii. 31; Heb. xi. 37) — which here figuratively expresses a 
sudden and annihilating destruction, and possibly not 
without reference to the double-mindedness of the con- 
demned, or even the duplicity of the Antichrist, which 
will finally bring spiritual despotism to its doom (see Rev. 

xiii. 1 and 11).” It is worthy of consideration in this 

* Bruce, The Parabolic Teaching of Christ , p. 491. 


AS THOSE WHO MUST GIVE AN ACCOUNT. 34 1 


connection that the wonderful outbreak of schismatical 
opposition to the authority of the Church, in the twelfth 
and thirteenth centuries, was the result of the two very 
causes which are here mentioned — the attempt to extend 
the faith and to repress heresy, by the military orders and 
the secular arm ; and the increase of luxury and riotous 
living among the Bishops and clergy, and persons in 
authority at that time. 


NOTES. 

Ver. 45. — Instead of Oepairela, Lachmann and Tischendorf (following B., 
L., al.) would read oiKerda, but Oepaireia is sufficiently attested, and is to be 
preferred. The text of the Revised Version has “ot/ceTetos avrov .” 

Ver. 49. — Codd. B., C., D., instead of the infinitives iffOUiv and vlveiv, 
depending on dp^rjrat, read iadir) and nivri, which Wordsworth and most 
critical editions adopt. 




XV. 


Stic ‘Qiitise and ttxc flfoolistt Virgins. 



XV. 


Jgtue MUsjc aixxl tTxje ^oolislx TOvrjitxs. 


THE CHURCH IS TO GET READY VESSELS TO HOLD OLL 
AND NOT CARRY LLGHTED TORCHES ONLY. 


Then shall the kingdom of heaven be 
likened (made like) unto ten virgins, which 
took their lamps and went forth to meet the 
bridegroom. And five of them were wise, 
and five were foolish. They that were fool- 
ish took their lamps and took no oil with 
them : but the wise took oil in their vessels 
>vith their lamps. While the bridegroom 
tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And 
at midnight there was a cry made, Behold 
the bridegroom (cometh) ; go ye out to meet 
him. Then all those virgins arose, and 
trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said 
unto the wise. Give us of your oil ; for our 


lamps are gone (going) out. But the wise 
answered, saying, Not so ; lest there be not 
enough for us and you : but go ye rather to 
them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And 
while they went to buy, the bridegroom 
came ; and they that were ready went in 
with him to the marriage : and the door was 
shut. Afterward came also the other vir- 
gins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he 
answered and said, Verily I say unto you, 
I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye 
know neither the day nor the hour wherein 
the Son of man cometh. — S. Matt. xxv. 
1-14. 


Our division of chapters here again is sadly at fault. 
There is no break of any kind between the end of chap, 
xxiv. and the opening of chap. xxv. It is the same 
theme : the persons addressed are the same. Our Lord is 
still speaking of His Parousia, or coming again. Not from 
the stand-point of the judgment upon the world, however, 
or the last judgment, but in the sense of which He speaks 
of it in the Gospel of S. John, and which appears, as we 
have seen, in S. Matthew in the parabolic saying of the 
budding fig-tree, His coming to the wedding and to the ex- 


346 THE CHURCH TO GET VESSELS TO HOLD OIL 


pectant Church after His resurrection and ascension, as the 
bridegroom returning to take to himself his bride. The par- 
ticle then ( tot€ ), with which the parable opens, marks the 
destruction of Jerusalem as the beginning of the Parousia. 
It was, in reality, the first act of the world’s judgment, and 
of the end of days. As the “ harvest of an early tree an- 
nounces and inaugurates the general harvest,” Godet says, 
“so the judgment of Jerusalem is the prelude, and even 
the first act, of the judgment of humanity. The Jew has 
priority in judgment because he had priority of grace 
(comp, the two corresponding 7 rpwrov (Rom. ii. 9, 10). 
With the judgment on Jerusalem the hour of the world’s 
judgment has really struck. The present epoch is due to 
a suspension of the judgment already begun — a suspension 
the aim of which is to make way for the time of grace 
which is to be granted to the Gentiles (/ caipol iSvcov, the 
times of the Gentiles).” 

It is of this “time of grace” the parable treats, and 
more especially of the dangers likely to ensue to enthu- 
siastic and simple-minded believers, because of the long- 
continued delay before the return of the bridegroom in con- 
nection with it. In accordance with the statement of Isaac 
Williams in his comment on the parable : “ The whole of 
the Christian dispensation is likened to a state of wait- 
ing and looking out for the coming of Christ, with loins 
girded and lamps burning ; and all baptized Christians 
are likened to virgins, to the higher and better state, more 
accepted of God and sanctified to His own peculiar ser- 
vice.” Thiersch, with a better appreciation of the histori- 


AND NOT CATTY LIGHTED TOT CHE S ONLY. 347 


cal element in the parable, says, “ The ten virgins mean 
the elect disciples of the Lord, who are called to receive 
the heavenly crown, and are nearer to Him than all 
others. He has spoken the parable precisely for these. 
They were His most confidential disciples, who sur- 
rounded Him as He sat on the olive-mount looking down 
upon Jerusalem.” Ten among the Jews was the number 
of a sodality. It is used here to represent the Apostolic 
College on the eve of their setting forth to evangelize the 
world. The Christian Church in them is likened to ten 
virgins, who, with torches or lamps in their hands, car- 
ried aloft for the purpose of disseminating the light all 
around, amid the prevailing darkness, go out from Jeru- 
salem after the destruction of the Holy City, to welcome 
the approach of the Royal Bridegroom, who is now daily 
expected to return to accomplish the work of the world’s 
conversion, and take to Himself as a bride the Holy Cath- 
olic Church throughout the world. # 

It will not escape the notice of the diligent reader of 


* “ The general significance of the opening description is so plain as hardly 
to admit of diversity of opinion. The characteristics of those belonging to 
Christ’s Church on earth are expectation of Christ’s coming, dedication to 
the duty of giving Him a joyous welcome, and preparation for such a wel- 
come. The Church on earth is a testimony concerning a great -future, a 
witness to the promise of Christ’s reappearing with throngs of attendants, 
as a bridegroom in the midst of His marriage rejoicings. This expectation 
is professed by all who declare themselves disciples of the Lord Jesus. 
They do not profess merely to cherish the hope that at death they shall be 
privileged to enter into the heavenly kingdom, but keeping their eye along 
the plane of the world’s history, they see a bright period far in advance, 
when they shall arise from sleep and exult in the coming of the Lord of 
glory.” — Calderwood, pp. 385, 386. 


348 THE CHURCH TO GET VESSELS TO HOLD OIL 


the sacred text that the time spoken of is still future ; 
for the downfall of Jerusalem and the going forth of the 
elect from the ruins of the Holy City were yet to take 
place, and was a thing almost beyond belief to the men of 
that day and generation. We have seen the kingdom of 
heaven spoken of at times as already come in the person 
of its divine Head, as in the parable of the Tares and the 
King who made a Marriage for his Son. It is spoken of 
at other times as a thing present in the company of dis- 
ciples who had already joined themselves to Jesus. But 
here it is spoken of as something to be realized in the near 
future. In the hour of Christ’s coming, the kingdom of 
heaven shall become like ( o/jboiOcorjaercu ) ten virgins, i.e., “ a 
development shall take place in the sphere of the kingdom 
of heaven resembling the occurrence of the following narra- 
tive of the Ten Virgins.” * Nor is it with the whole body 
of virgins which “ the figure introduces in conformity with 
the idea of the Church,” as Lange admirably puts it, that 
the parable has to do ; but with those who were more espe- 
cially called to figure as bridemaids , and were selected with 
the view of providing the bride a suitable escort on her 
essaying forth to meet the bridegroom. S. Matthew follows 
his usual custom here, of directing attention to the charac- 
teristic feature of the parable, by qualifying his original 
statement, through the introduction of a modifying clause, 
“ which took their lamps , and went forth to meet the bride- 
groom ” (aiTive^ XafiovcraL ra? \afi7ra$a < ? eavrcov e^rj\6ov el<$ 
a7rdvT7]aiv tov wfifpiov)” The choice of the composite 

* Goebel. 


AND NOT CARRY LIGHTED TORCHES ONLY. 349 


relative pronoun “ a?T«/e?, = tales quae, is not accidental 
here,” as Goebel is careful to observe. “ What the virgins 
in question did is told with a view to define more pre- 
cisely the general description as virgins, that it may be 
seen what kind of virgins are to be spoken of, namely, 
such as ‘ took their lamps, and went forth to meet the 
bridegroom,’ therefore bridemaids who went to meet the 
bridegroom in a festive procession.” 

Two things at the outset are, accordingly, to be care- 
fully noted. 1st. The time spoken of in the parable is not 
the hour of death. “ The Redeemer for whom we wait,” 
Thiersch observes, “ is not the angel of death, but Christ, 
the Prince of Life : when He appears as the Prince of 
Life death will be swallowed up in life, and that will be 
the true hour of redemption. The Lord could not have 
meant the hour of death, because this comes to each one 
separately, one after another, while the hour of which 
the Lord speaks comes to all at once, and it is the hour of 
His personal return in glory, which He has compared to 
the lightning, which shines from the east to the west in a 
moment, from one end of heaven to another (Matt. xxiv. 
27).” Neither is the time spoken of the last judgment. 
It covers, as we have seen, the whole period of the Pa- 
rousia, from the downfall of Jerusalem to the final judg- 
ment, but it is not confounded with that event itself. 
This is manifest from the images employed. Jesus is here 
represented as a bridegroom coming to visit His bride, 
not as the judge of the quick and the dead, seated on the 
great white throne. The image of the bridegroom has to 


350 THE CHURCH TO GET VESSELS TO HOLD OLL 


do with the Church and the elect, not with the world in 
general ; and the appearing is the same as that spoken of 
in the parable of the king who made a marriage for his 
son, when the king came in to see the guests. It is not 
an appearing for the purpose of judgment, but one which 
by its very nature, as when S. John saw our Lord in 
His glorified humanity walking among the golden candle- 
sticks, of necessity involves judgment. The symbolism 
of Holy Scripture is ever true to itself, and will always 
be found an unerring guide in the interpretation of the 
sacred text. Under the figure of the wedding, and the 
bridegroom, and the bride, we have a representation of 
the distinctive characteristics of the economy of the Spirit 
after the ascension, when Christ poured out of His fulness, 
in marriage dower, of the gifts which He had received 
from the Father upon His bride the Church, and her 
attitude henceforth becomes that of joyous expectancy 
and hope and eager longing for the return of her Lord. 

2d. Another thing to be kept clearly in view from 
the outset is, that the point of view from which the per- 
sons represented in the parable are to be continually re- 
garded is that of the corporate and official, as contradis- 
tinguished from the individual and moral. “ One thing,” 
Calderwood observes, “ stands out clearly in the opening 
words of the parable, and must be regarded as regulating 
the interpretation that it applies to the kingdom as a 
whole.” The application of the parable, accordingly, as 
Stier is willing to grant, is to “ different churches ” (rather 
than to individuals) “ whose predominant character in 


AND NO T CADDY LIGHTED TOD CHE S ONLY. 35 I 

their relation to Christ (as those in the Apocalypse) will 
at last so represent itself.” At an earlier stage of our 
Lord’s teaching we find our Lord urging upon His dis- 
ciples that they must not hide under a bushel the things 
He taught them, but set the light upon a candlestick or 
lamp-stand (eVt ttjv Xv^vtav), in other words, provide a 
framework for the light, by virtue of which organized 
Christianity will assume the form of a city set upon a hill, 
and so make its influence felt as a social force in the 
world. He now goes beyond this, and in view of the 
Pentecostal gift soon to be bestowed upon the Church, 
He warns His disciples that, in going forth to the con- 
quest of the world, they must make their influence felt by 
the cultivation of a bright and joyous spirit, and when the 
time grows longer and the darkness begins to thicken, and 
the first glad sense of triumph of the Pentecostal era has 
begun to give way to the sterner reality of the work that 
is set before them, they must still keep the light burning, 
and with a view to future ages store away in “vessels” 
the spirit of praise and prayer and almsgiving and Pente- 
costal charity. If Pentecostal rapture cannot last, liturgi- 
cal forms of prayer must take their place ; if the common 
life must cease by reason of abuse, the spirit of charity 
must still be represented in orphanages and hostelries 
and hospitals ; if the Agape may no longer be adapted to 
newer forms of social life, the Church must not forget to 
take up the devotions of the people in the way of eucha- 
ristic alms for the suffering members of Christ’s body. 

The structure of the parable is always worthy of special 


352 THE CHURCH TO GET VESSELS TO HOLD OLL 


study, and in the present case especially entitled to con- 
sideration. It will be noticed that we have repeated in 
the parable of the Ten Virgins the same peculiarity of 
arrangement which has been made the subject of remark 
byDeWetteand Meyer in the Two Stewards. There, 
instead of following up, as was observed, the description 
of the faithful steward, attention was at once called to the 
unfaithful one, and the result of his saying to himself in 
his heart, “ My lord delayeth his coming.” Here the 
very same thing takes place. No sooner is mention made 
of the foolish virgins than the narrative breaks off, and 
they become hereafter the leading subject of the parable. 
Tischendorf, and Westcott and Hort, have proposed, ac- 
cordingly, to change the order of the original text, and 
read “ five foolish — five wise,” placing the foolish first. 
But this, notwithstanding the arguments of Goebel in its 
favor, is a mistaken view of the structural arrangement ; 
as the case of the preceding parable (where we meet with 
the same peculiarity) conclusively proves. It is true that it 
is the aim of the parable to fix our attention upon the fool- 
ish, and to give the reason for their folly, rather than upon 
the wise ; still, the wise are to be allowed the first place, 
and they are not to be regarded as serving only the purpose 
of an offset to the foolish. We shall see in the sequel that 
they have their own marked characteristics; and are in 
reality first in importance as they are in privilege and 
position. 

Of the ten virgins, it is said that “ Five of them were 
wise , and five were foolish. They that were foolish took 


AND NOT CARRY LIGHTED TORCHES ONLY. 353 

their lamps , and took no oil with them .” It is a notice- 
able instance of the way in which theological preposses- 
sions will influence the judgment of men, that Calderwood, 
whose treatment of the parable is in many respects admir- 
able, here yields to his peculiar bias, and maintains that 
“ it seems impossible to regard the whole as representing 
genuine disciples, though the view has been largely taken ; ” 
and affirms “ that there is nothing in the structure of the 
parable to warrant the suggestion that the five foolish 
maidens represent only a less devoted and less watchful 
portion of the true servants of Christ.” Sadler, in answer 
to all such attempts to get rid of the difficulties connected 
with the individual application of the parable, says that 
“ whatever is meant by the lamps lighted with oil (and 
the oil cannot be anything else but the Holy Spirit) was 
the same in both the wise and the foolish virgins up to a 
certain time, the time of all beginning to slumber and 
sleep. It will not do, for a moment, to say that the light 
shed by the lamp of one was real light, and the light of the 
other only the glare of insincere profession ; both are sup- 
posed to have the same oil, the same vessels or means 
of retaining it, and the same lamps. The one difference 
— the one sole difference — which is the teaching of the 
parable is, that the one had more oil than the other. 
The one had more oil for an emergency — the delay in 
the coming of the bridegroom — and the other had only 
just sufficient to enable them to join in the procession 
if the bridegroom did not tarry; but he did tarry, and 
they had not enough and were excluded.” In other 
2 3 


354 THE church to get vessels to hold oil 


words, the proper and primary application of the parable 
is not to individuals and to the profession of religion 
at all ; but to churches and corporate bodies, who are 
officially engaged in holding forth the word of life. If 
there be any application to individuals, it must be to the 
danger of resting in official character and the mere out- 
ward call to the ministry, and not cultivating the graces 
of the Holy Spirit, whereby alone the official character 
becomes a sanctifying influence. 

But the true application is to the corporate Church, and 
to those who are called, as the Apostles were called, to go 
forth and shed abroad the light which they had received, 
for the conversion of the world. And the warning held 
forth in the case of the foolish virgins is, that something 
more is needed for the extension of Christ’s kingdom in 
the world, than the enthusiasm of humanity and the 
preaching of the word. What more ? There is a differ- 
ence between oil and light. The one in Holy Scriptures 
is the recognized symbol of the second person of the ever- 
blessed Trinity as the Eternal Logos; the other is the 
symbol of the third person, the Eternal Wisdom and the 
indwelling love of the Godhead. What the foolish needed 
in their folly was wisdom . They went out trusting to 
others, as it would appear, and thinking it sufficient to 
have their lamps alight, and forgot the warning not to go 
forth until they had received “ power, after the Holy Ghost 
is come” from on high (Acts i. 8). Oil is that which gives 
man a “ cheerful countenance,” even as wine makes glad 
the heart (Ps. civ. 15). It was a law of Levitical sacrifice 


AND NOT CATTY LIGHTED TOT CHE S ONLY. 355 


that to every pure offering, in addition to the bolted flour, 
there should be added a hin of oil. God needed a cheer- 
ful spirit, as well as return of work. Jacob poured oil upon 
the stone that was to be the foundation of the Bethel, 
which he proposed to consecrate to the divine service ; 
and it was the duty of the priests under the law, to keep 
the lamp in the Temple trimmed ; and to replenish it con- 
tinually with new supplies of oil, that it might never go 
out. What else was shadowed forth in all this, than the 
duty of unceasing prayer and praise, on the part of the or- 
ganic Church ? Her duty does not cease with the preach- 
ing of the word, and the offering of the perpetual sacrifice : 
she is also to hail the approach of the bridegroom with 
hymns of praise, and to make the world feel the power of 
the risen life that is in her, by her deeds of love, and her 
feasts of charity. The light of the Church is not the cold 
light of nature, nor is it the dry light of speculative truth : 
it is the warm, fructifying light, which cheers and gladdens 
and comforts ; and pours itself forth, like oil, to heal, and 
to restore, and to refresh, when sick and weary and languid. 
It was this to which our Lord Himself pointed, as the true 
witness to His divinity when John sent messengers to ask 
Him, whether He were indeed the Christ. His answer 
is : “Go and show John again those things which ye do 
hear and see : the blind receive their sight, and the lame 
walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead 
are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to 
them ” (S. Matt. xi. 4, 5). The neglect of the foolish vir- 
gins to take oil with them, marks their failure to appre- 


356 THE CHURCH TO GET FES SEES TO HOLD OIL 


date the necessity for a life of devotion, in frequent acts 
of prayer and praise ; as well as the neglect of the culti- 
vation of a spirit of fervent charity, in almsgiving and 
works of mercy. 

When it is said of the wise virgins, on the other hand, 
that they not only took “ oil,” but were careful to provide 
themselves with “ vessels ” to preserve the oil, we have an 
instance of the same practical wisdom which our Lord en- 
joined upon His disciples, when He first sent them forth 
to bear witness to the light. They were not only to 
treasure up what He said to them, but they were to pro- 
vide a lampstand for the light, in order that it might the 
better shed its rays abroad. The “ vessel for the oil ” is, in 
effect, the same thing as the “ lampstand ” for the “ light.” 

The Pentecostal life of perpetual prayer and praise ; and 
the giving up of everything which one might call their 
own for the relief of the poor and the distressed, were 
things not intended to last. It was like the honeymoon of 
the Church, when the bride lived in rapture apart, in the 
embrace of the bridegroom. It was an extraordinary and 
creative period — like the first week of creation, and the so- 
journ by the mount — to be followed by the organic stage, 
and the routine of ordinary life, under the discipline of 
law. But the Church, in passing from the one condition 
to the other, was bound to carry away with her the Pente- 
costal dower, and preserve it for the use of coming gener- 
ations. If she can no longer afford to keep every day as a 
festival, she must so order her life that at certain fixed 
times every day, she will give herself up to acts of devotion. 


AND NOT CATTY LIGHTED TOTCHES ONLY. 357 


If she cannot, every day, break bread from house to house, 
and eat her meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 
praising God and having favor with the people, she must 
take care to provide, that one day in the week, and that 
the first, shall be set apart for the eucharistic feast, and her 
children shall be set free from the burden of earthly toil 
to appear in the divine presence. If we can no longer 
live the Pentecostal life, we have still preserved for us the 
Pentecostal spirit in the liturgical forms which have come 
down from the earliest times, and in the hours at which 
the Church was accustomed to trim her lamp and replen- 
ish it anew with fresh oil. “ That the inspired and rapt 
utterances’’ of the Pentecostal period melted into air, is 
not, in the judgment of a thoughtful writer,* “ altogether 
probable. It is at least possible that the unrivalled and 
inimitable beauty of liturgic language derived its peculiar 
bloom from Pentecostal times. In every age devout feel- 
ing can clothe itself in words more or less appropriate. 
It is not in every age, however, that it has power to crys- 
tallize into imperishable gems. This belongs rather to an 
age of religious and poetic inspiration.” It was the func- 
tion of the post- Apostolic age to fashion the “ vessels,” 
which were to contain the oil that was to keep alive the 
devotional life of the Church in the ages in which she 
awaits the return of the bridegroom. “ If we may judge,” 
says the same writer, “ from the descriptions of heavenly 
worship in the Apocalypse, or from the peculiar solemn- 
ity with which the antecedents and concomitants of 

* Mahan’s Church History , pp. 94, 95. 


35 3 THE CHURCH TO GET VESSELS TO HOLD OIL 


the institution of the Lord’s Supper are given in the 
Gospel of S. John, the mind of that great Apostle was 
eminently liturgical ; and to him, probably, we are in- 
debted for many of the devout utterances which still re- 
sound in all languages from the one end of Christendom to 
the other.” And as with the devotional life of the Church, 
so was it also with her “ common ” life. The common life, 
after the manifestation of the spirit of covetousness in 
Ananias and Sapphira, passed away ; but it was replaced 
by institutions, which it was the work of the Christian 
Church, in her wisdom, for the first time to create ; and 
by the abundance of her charity to keep alive, during the 
‘‘dark ages.” “The legislation of Justinian” Uhlhorn* 
tells us, “shows, even by the multiplicity of their names, 
the many-sided development of these institutions. We 
there find Xenodochia (houses for strangers), Nosocomia 
(houses for the sick), Cherotrophia (houses for widows), 
Orphanotrophia (orphanages), Brechotrophia (houses for 
the rearing of little children, whether bereaved of friends or 
foundlings), Gerontocomia (houses for the aged). . . . 

Theodoret relates of the monk Thalassius that he assem- 
bled about him blind beggars and taught them to praise 
God, and solicited, from all who came to visit him, con- 
tributions to supply the blind with necessaries. The 
insane were also received in the monasteries on the island 
of Tabennas, in the Nile ; but there were as yet no special 
institutions for their reception.” Surely the Church was 
preparing herself for the darkness that was soon to fall 

* Christian Charity in the Ancient Church, p. 330. 


AND NOT CARRY LIGHTED TORCHES ONLY. 359 


upon the nations, and was actively engaged in storing 
away the oil in “ vessels,” to keep alive the lamp ! 

As in the parable of the Wheat and the Tares, there 
was an interval between the sowing and the ripening of 
the seed, when men slept ; so after the going forth of 
the Church upon her mission there comes a time during 
which the Virgins, as they are waiting for the return of the 
bridegroom, began to nod, and at last fell asleep * The 
one serves to illustrate the other. It is no fault of the 
virgins that they fall asleep : men must sleep, and so must 
the wise virgins as well as the foolish. If anybody is in 
fault it is the bridegroom, for it is expressly said that it 
was because (not simply “ while ”) the bridegroom tarried 
they all slumbered and slept . The parable repeats again, 
in a way peculiar to itself, the same truth which, under 
another form, at an earlier stage, we find our Lord striving 
to impress upon the minds of His disciples. He is fight- 
ing a Jewish prejudice, and He takes occasion again and 
again to press it home, that His Kingdom is to be a thing 
of slow growth in the world. It is not to win its way as 
worldly kingdoms do by sudden conquest. The folly of 
the foolish virgins was in the cherishing of the Jewish 
expectation of a sudden manifestation of the Messianic 
kingdom, and a speedy triumph over the Gentile nations 
by means of worldly conquest. Had they grasped the 
notion of spiritual growth and victory through suffering 
and death, they would have understood that the weapons 
of their warfare must be the spiritual weapons of prayer, 

* hvffTa^av (aor.), ical iicdOevdov (imp.). 


360 THE CHURCH TO GET VESSELS TO HOLD OIL 


and supplication and returning good for evil, and bless- 
ing those that persecuted them. The bridegroom is long 
in coming, for the reason that the Parousia covers the 
whole period of the ingathering of the Gentiles ; and 
while it is in progress there is nothing that can prevent 
the nodding and the falling asleep. It is needless to say 
that it is not the sleep of death which is spoken of (for 
how could it be said that on rising from the dead the vir- 
gins trimmed their lamps?) ; nor is it “an involuntary en- 
tanglement in the world and its spirit of carnal security,” 
which is spoken of ; nor does it indicate “ the relaxation 
or decline of Christianity.” It suggests neither more nor 
less than “ the remission of a definite expectation of the 
near approach of Christ’s kingdom.” “ We can readily 
understand,” Heubner (in Lange, apud loc .) says, “ how 
this expectation has decreased with increasing ages ; it is 
not now found among all faithful Christians, of whom very 
few can bring themselves to think that we may live to see 
the last day. But this sleepiness does not exclude the 
general preparation of Christians in other respects, that is 
their faith and love.” Nay, so far is Holy Scripture from 
cherishing the notion that Christian persons are always 
to live with the thought of the second Advent con- 
sciously before them, that it tells us God has withheld 
the revelation of the time of His coming, for the very 
reason, that if He had made it known it would have 
encouraged a spirit of idle expectancy; and men would 
have ceased to act as free agents. The parable takes 
for granted that men will and must fall asleep, and it 


AND NOT CATTY LIGHTED TOT CHE S ONLY. 36 1 


makes this the ground for the necessity of putting away 
the oil in vessels to meet just such an emergency. Chris- 
tian watchfulness consists not in idle dreaming, after the 
fashion of the Indian devotee, who has no hope of re- 
deeming the world, and seeks only to escape from the evil ; 
but in active doing inspired by the thought of speeding the 
return of the bridegroom. If the good man of the house 
had known the time of the thief’s entering, he would not 
have watched ; but it is because he knows it not, that he 
must be up and doing to secure the property against his 
coming. It was because the steward began to calculate the 
time of his lord’s return, that he ceased to imitate the ex- 
ample of the faithful and wise servant, in giving to each 
their meat in due season. Christian watchfulness consists 
in the faithful discharge of duty, without any anxious in- 
quiry about the future. It was just because the wise vir- 
gins knew that until the bridegroom does come, the Church 
must accept the condition of time as the law of her being, 
that they put the oil into vessels, and kept it always in 
store for the lighting of the lamps. The Church has not 
left her devotional life to the caprice of impulse, or to 
the feeling of the moment : but has arranged it accord- 
ing to times and seasons, so that the voice of prayer and 
praise may never be allowed to cease. It is because the 
oil is in vessels that it is always ready for use. It was for 
the same reason, that when the supernatural aids of the 
Pentecostal age had done their appointed work, in extend- 
ing the glad tidings of the kingdom throughout the world, 
and the Apostles had begun to sleep, that the organic 


362 THE CHURCH TO GET VESSELS TO HOLD OIL 

ministry took the place of the extraordinary ministry of 
apostles, prophets, teachers (Eph. iv. 11) in the earlier age. 
The grace of orders was portioned out, and put into sepa- 
rate vessels, that the work of the Spirit in ministering to 
the poor, and comforting the broken-hearted, and caring 
for the helpless and weak of the flock scattered throughout 
the world, might in bishop, priest, and deacon be the 
better distributed to meet the growing exigences of the 
Church, in its relation to the world. The wise virgins are 
they who do not trust to the mere carrying of the mar- 
riage torch ; but, in view of the exigences of the future, 
go to work and put the oil into vessels, that by various 
ministries and through manifold agencies, the oil may be 
stored up for use, whether it be to keep the lamp of 
devotion burning within the Church, or to use it in minis- 
tering comfort and consolation and refreshment to those 
who are without. 

Lange’s treatment of the parable is, on the whole, satis- 
factory. Especially is this the case with his explanation 
of the midnight as the time chosen for the return of the 
bridegroom. “ The midnights in the history of the king- 
dom of God,” he says, “ are each the last season of a slowly 
expiring age.” We have already seen that there were 
critical epochs in the history of the elder Church, when the 
householder sent his messengers to require the portion of 
the fruit of the vineyard ; so also is it in the history of the 
Christian Church. There are times when the cry is heard, 
“ Behold , the bridegroom (cometh) ; go ye out to meet him.” 
The best commentary on these words is the visitation of 


AND NOT CATTY LIGHTED TOTCHES ONLY. 363 


the seven churches of Asia Minor, in the book of the 
Revelation. There our Lord is represented after His 
ascension, as walking in the midst of the golden candle- 
sticks. Although absent (under the form in which He 
appeared among men in the days of His flesh), He is still 
present in power , after the manner of His appearing in the 
second Advent. When He writes to the Church of Ephe- 
sus, He says that, notwithstanding its faithfulness in many 
things, He has “ somewhat against ” it, because it has 
“ left ” its “ first love ; ” and he warns it to “ repent and do 
the first works,” or else He “will come” and “remove its 
candlestick out of its place.” It has been asked by the 
writer of the able articles in the Expositor , on the “ Seven 
Churches of Asia Minor,” what the coming here is; and he 
answers that it cannot mean the final judgment ; but, as 
the vision proves, must be applied to the visitation of the 
churches during the period of the Parousia, which, as we 
have seen, covers the whole period from the coming to 
judge Jerusalem, up to the time of the last judgment. 
The coming to judge Jerusalem was only the beginning of 
a series of similar judgments, which are likely to occur at 
any time when the Church, through carelessness or the sur- 
rendering of itself up to the spirit of the world, needs to 
be revived ; or if past revival, in the case of any particu- 
lar Church, have its candlestick entirely removed. It is 
here that the application of the parable to individuals, and 
to the hour of death, utterly fails. Even Goebel is per- 
plexed beyond measure. He maintains that the second 
going out of the virgins does not in any way differ from 


364 TILE CHURCH TO GET VESSELS TO HOLD OLL 


the first, and the parable resumes the subject anew at the 
point from which it first set out. Stier shows a better 
appreciation of the drift of the parable, when, in answer 
to the question “ Whence now is the cry of His coming, 
since all are asleep ?” he says, “ Christ here actually hints 
that, although the general predominating state may be 
called a sleeping, He will yet graciously see to there being 
individual zvatchers on the walls of Jerusalem (Is. lxii 6, 7) 
who sleep not ; for it will not do to understand merely 
‘the Holy Ghost,’ because He must still have human 
heralds.” 

“ Then all those virgins arose , and trimmed their lamps.” 
If the sleep were the sleep of death, and the “cry” the 
call to resurrection, what purpose could be served by the 
trimming of the lamps ? There will be no time for that, 
once the archangel’s trump has sounded. Expectation 
comes to an end when the Lord appears in glory. The 
trimming of the lamps is introduced to prepare the way 
for the thought that, in the cases of churches as of indi- 
viduals, it is possible to exhaust the day of grace. Arch- 
bishop Trench, in his “ Commentary on the Epistles to 
the Seven Churches in Asia,” * reminds us that the 
churches of Asia are now no more, or barely and hardly 
exist ; but the grace of God withdrawn from them has 
been bestowed elsewhere. The seat of the Church has 
been changed, but the Church still remains. The candle- 
stick has been removed, but the candle has not been 
quenched ; and what the East has lost the West has 
* Pp. hi , 112. 


AND NOT CARRY LIGHTED TORCHES ONLY. 365 


gained. How awful the fulfilment of the threat has been 
in regard to Ephesus, every modern traveller thither has 
borne witness. One who lately visited the place found 
only three Christians there, and these sunk in such igno- 
rance and apathy as scarcely to have heard of S. Paul or S. 
John.” When the foolish virgins found that their lamps 
were in danger of going out, without possibility of renewal, 
they are represented as turning to their companions and 
saying to them : “ Give us of your oil, for our lamps are 
gone outP Here, again, we have disclosed, in a seemingly 
incidental way, the reason for the false security of the 
foolish virgins. They never realized the need of diligence 
and personal self-sacrifice in connection with their calling. 
Up to the very last they are disposed to fall back on the 
notion of some common stock of treasure, out of which, 
when the worst came to the worst, they can avail them- 
selves. Isaac Williams notes that it is to their compan- 
ions they turn in the day of their calamity, and not to 
God. What is this but the idea of a treasury of merit at 
the disposal of the Church, in the superabundant good 
works of the saints ? The bearing of the answer, Never 
in the world ; there will certainly not be enough for us and 
you , is manifest. It is surely not too much to believe 
that our Lord in giving, as He has done, the dialogue 
form to this portion of the parable, foresaw the danger of 
such a tendency on the part of His disciples as something 
native to the heart, and purposely intended to guard 
against it. The disposition to lean upon other helps be- 
sides the one only Helper, is not confined to the Church of 


366 THE CHURCH TO GET VESSELS TO HOLD OIL 

Rome; the formulating of it into a doctrine is only one 
of the many evidences of the way in which the worldly 
spirit had entered there and got possession. 

To the demand of the foolish virgins to give them of 
their oil, the wise reply, Go ye rather to them that sell and 
buy for yourselves. If the return of the bridegroom were 
the hour of death, the answer would be inexplicable. It 
implies that time and opportunity are still left. But it is 
too late ; and when they go to buy, the bridegroom comes 
and the door is shut. In other words, the day of grace is 
ended, and the time has come for the removing of the 
candlestick. The application is to churches, and not to 
individuals. We are not dealing with virgins as such, 
but with virgins acting in the temporary character of 
bridemaids. The kingdom, it is ever to be kept in mind, 
is not likened to virgins in general, but to ten virgins 
having taken their lamps ; the participial clause serving 
the purpose of a qualifying adjective, to be taken in con- 
nection with the noun it qualifies. The lamp, as we have 
seen, is not the token of a subjective quality, such as faith 
or love; it is the sign of an official function, in which one 
is called upon to act in a public capacity. The official 
function ends when the Lord appears. 

If the lamp, then, cannot be interpreted as faith, in the 
subjective meaning of the word, neither can the vessels 
which the wise virgins take with them to hold the oil, be 
taken to mean the heart , with its store of love. The 
“vessels” are represented as something objective and 
external to the virgins themselves, just as much as the 


AND NOT CATTY LIGHTED TOTCHES ONLY. 3 67 


“ lamps.” The fault found with the foolish virgins is that 
they took no “ oil with themselves ; ” the praise given to 
the wise virgins is that they took oil in their vessels with 
their lamps. The vessels for the containing of the oil 
represent something of the nature of an adjunct to the 
equipment necessary for the due celebration of the occa- 
sion, which, no less than the framework needed for the 
distribution of the light in the framework of the Church 
itself, is requisite for the preservation and transmission of 
the Pentecostal gift. The organic Church, in other words, 
has a double function to discharge in her relation to the 
economy of the Son, and the economy of the Holy Ghost. 
She bears witness to the one by holding forth the torch of 
truth as revealed in the person of her Lord and Master; 
and she bears witness to the presence and power of the 
Holy Ghost by her good works, whether by keeping up 
in the world the belief in the supernatural, through her 
continual intercession and her service of praise ; or by her 
ministration to relieve the wants of the needy and the 
outcasts. 

When the wise virgins are represented as telling the 
foolish to “ go and buy for themselves,” we are not to re- 
gard it as spoken in “ irony ; ” it is part and parcel of the 
dramatic form used in bringing prominently into notice an 
all-important truth. The world is to the Christian a place 
of merchandise, where opportunity is afforded to engage 
in works of barter and exchange for the sake of securing 
a heavenly treasure. The world affords opportunity for 
self-denial, inasmuch as it is given to man, in order that 


368 THE CHURCH TO GET VESSELS TO HOLD OIL 


proof may be furnished whether, with the goods entrusted 
to his keeping, and for the time being made his, he will 
serve God or mammon. It is for this reason that “ covet- 
ousness ” is called “ idolatry.” And in like manner, when 
it is added that “ while the virgins went to buy , the bride- 
groom came ; and they that were ready went in with him 
to the marriage ; and the door was shut” the dramatic rep- 
resentation is intended to set forth, in a lively figure, the 
awful truth, that when divine grace is neglected or re- 
sisted, there comes a time when the Holy Spirit ceases to 
strive, and nothing is left but a fearful looking for of judg- 
ment. As there are periods of national decline, when re- 
covery is no longer possible, so is it also with churches, 
as the warning given to the Seven Churches of Asia 
Minor abundantly proves. There comes a time when the 
market (so to speak) is no longer open ; there is no longer 
opportunity afforded for laying up a store of oil in the 
vessels ; the lamp begins to fail, and nothing can prevent 
its going out. But what is meant by the “ door ” being 
“shut”? The best explanation of the phrase is furnished 
by the shutting of Noah and his family in the ark, when 
the time had come for the waters of the flood to descend 
upon the earth ; and the day of grace for the men of that 
day and generation was ended. Where there is a door 
there must be a house ; and the house is the home of the 
bride, the Church, of which the bridegroom is the spouse. 
As in the close of the Jewish dispensation, the door was 
not shut until the elect were gathered in ; so is it in the 
times when the bridegroom comes to visit the bride, and 


AND NOT CATTY LIGHTED TOUCHES ONLY. 369 


the call is heard, “ Go ye out to meet him.” It is of the 
nature of the divine dispensations, that salvation is always 
accompanied with judgment. In the mystery of God’s 
providential dealing with His Church the remnant is 
saved ; the elect are gathered in : the worldly and unpre- 
pared are left to perish with the men of the world, given 
over to judgment. As it was in the days of Noah, so will 
it be to the end of the world. We need not then enter 
upon the question whether the shutting of the door upon 
the foolish virgins was the taking away from them the 
last hope. It is very true that the thing here spoken of 
is not the last judgment, but, as has been said, the judg- 
ment which from time to time takes place, in the course 
of the ages, upon the Church as a punishment for neglect, 
by the removal of the candlestick out of its place. It is 
also true, as we know from the case of those who perished 
in the flood, that many of those who suffered in the divine 
judgment, according to the flesh, through their being in- 
volved, although innocent, in the temporal punishment, 
were afterward justified according to the Spirit, when they 
had the Gospel preached to them in the prison when our 
Lord entered there. Still, the warning of the parable 
holds good, that there is a time after which grace, once 
neglected, can never be renewed. It would seem as if the 
drama were purposely so arranged as to make this awful 
possibility the crowning lesson of the whole parable. 
Even S. Hilary suggests that the exhortation to go and 
buy, supposes the possibility that obedience, even though 
late, might still render the foolish virgins meet to enter in 


3 70 THE CHURCH TO GET VESSELS TO HOLD OIL 


with the bridegroom. So when it is said that the fool- 
ish virgins “went ” away “to buy,” we are disposed to in- 
dulge the hope that they may, after all, have found oil. 
We are held in doubt, as it would appear, only to give 
the more point to the last act of the drama. When 
the virgins, on their return, “ knock and knock again ” at 
the fast-closed door, praying as they have never prayed 
before, “ Lord , Lord , open unto us ; ” they receive for 
an answer, “ Verily L say zinto you , I know you notP 
“ Know you not ! ” is a mystical phrase, which in Holy 
Scripture always has to do with communion in love. 
Jesus knows not those who love Him not : whosoever 
refuses to show love to the brethren, by ministering to 
them, fails in love to Him. He knows them not ; there 
is nothing in common between them. There is no com- 
mon bond by which they can ever be joined together. 
They are apart one from the other : separated by an im- 
passable gulf, and they must ever remain apart. What- 
ever the fate of the foolish virgins, the parable leaves it 
beyond all question that they can never enter in where 
the wise have gone before ; they never can know the rapt- 
ure of mystical communion with the bridegroom ; they 
never can be made one with him, and he with them, in 
the mystical marriage. 

“ Such,” says one,* “ is the parable of the Ten Virgins. 
A very fearful one, because it has to do with all those 
who go forth with lighted lamps to meet Christ Himself. 
There are those who must be supposed by others, and 


* Sadler in loc. 


AND NOT CARRY LIGHTED TORCHES ONLY, \ 37 1 


who must in some degree profess themselves, to do this. 
Bishops, who have to watch over dioceses ; priests, who 
have to stand before parishes ; preachers, who have to 
warn congregations ; writers of books explaining the ora- 
cles of God, teachers of Christian youth — all these go forth ; 
they step forward before others with lamps in their hands. 
This parable should make all such look very carefully as 
to their supply of grace, whether it be increasing or dimin- 
ishing, and to take to themselves the counsel of Christ, “ I 
counsel thee to buy of me [mark the word, to buy of me, 
same as the word used by the wise virgins], I COUNSEL 
THEE TO BUY OF ME gold tried in the fire, that thou 
mayest be rich ; and white raiment, that thou mayest be 
clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not ap- 
pear, and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou may- 
est see” (Rev. iii. 18). 


NOTES. 

Ver. i. — 'O/j.oiotO’fjo'eTai, shall be made like (Meyer). 'O ixouaQ^ffirai cannot 
here mean “shall be compared,” since the comparing is done already by the 
narrator of the parable; but d/uoiovadai is “to become like,” as in vi. 8, vii. 
24, xiii. 24, xviii. 24, xviii. 22, xxii. 2” (Goebel). 

“The lamps, not ‘torches,’ which the ten virgins carried, were of well- 
known construction. They bear in Talmudic writings commonly the name 
Lappid , , but the Aramaised form of the Greek word in the New Testament 
also occurs as Lampad , and Lampedas. The lamps consisted of a round 
receptacle for pitch, or oil for the wick. This was placed in a hollow cup 
or deep saucer — the Beth Sheggua — which was fastened by a pointed end 
into a long wooden pole, on which it was borne aloft.” — Edersheim. 


37 2 THE church to get vessels to hold oil. 


Ver, 2. — Lachmann and Tischendorf, following the chief uncials, read 
it evre 8e uvt<2v $ <rav puapal Kal irej ne <f>p6vijbioi. 

Ver. 7. — For avrwv it is better, with Lachmann and Tischendorf, to 
read iavrwv. The reflective force of the pronoun is to be noted throughout. 
See Meyer. 

Ver. 9. — The punctuation here, according to Meyer, ought to be firyirore * 
ov /A7] apKicri 7, k. t. “In this case the pL^iroTe (Scil. , Tovrb yeve<rd(i)) stands 
first and alone in a deprecating sense, and there follows, as an independent 
sentence, the strengthening double negative oi> /a], with the conjunctive aorist, 
which in such cases is scarcely distinguishable from the indicative future.” — 
Goebel. 

Ver. 13, — The words, “wherein the Son of man cometh,” are omitted 
by the oldest MSS., by the Vulgate and Syriac, by Tischendorf and West- 
cott and Hort. 


XVI. 


talents (Siueu iix £rust. 







XVI. 


gJTxje JgaXjetxts dUixrjetx in 


RANK NOT WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY. 


For the kingdom of heaven is as a man 
travelling into a far country, who called his 
own servants, and delivered unto them his 
goods. And unto one he gave five talents, 
to another two, and to another one ; to every 
man according to his several ability ; and 
straightway took his journey. Then he that 
had received the five talents, went, and traded 
with the same, and made them other five tal- 
ents. And likewise he that had received (the) 
two, he also gained other two. But he that 
had received (the) one, went, and digged in 
the earth, and hid his lord’s money. After a 
long time, the lord of those servants cometh, 
and reckoneth with them. And so he that 
had received five talents, came, and brought 
other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliv- 
eredst unto me five talents; behold, I have 
gained besides them five talents more. His 
lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and 
faithful servant : thou hast been faithful over 
a few things, I will make thee ruler over many 
things : enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 
He also that had received (the) two talents, 
came, and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto 
me two talents : behold. I have gained two 
other talents besides them. His lord said 


unto him, Well done, good and faithful ser- 
vant : thou hast been faithful over a few 
things, I will make thee ruler over many 
things : enter thou into the joy of thy lord- 
Then he which had received the one talent, 
came, and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou 
art an hard man, reaping where thou hast 
not sown, and gathering where thou hast not 
strewed ; and I was afraid, and went and 
hid thy talent in the earth : lo, there thou 
hast that is thine. His lord answered and 
said unto him. Thou wicked and slothful ser 
vant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed 
not, and gather where I have not strawed : 
thou oughtest therefore to have put my 
money to the exchangers, and then at my 
coming I should have received mine own with 
usury. Take therefore the talent from him, 
and give it unto him which hath ten talents. 
For unto every one that hath shall be given, 
and he shall have abundance : but from him 
that hath not shall be taken away even that 
which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable 
servant into outer darkness : there shall be 
weeping and gnashing of teeth. — S. Matt. 
xxv. 14-30. 


Edersheim in speaking of the close connection between 
these last parables of our Lord, and of the way one sup- 
plements the other, compares the whole series to “ a 
string of heavenly pearls;” and at the same time takes 


3 76 RANK NOT WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY. 


occasion to observe, how “ deeply interesting ” it would 
be, alike historically and for the better understanding of 
Christian teaching generally, to trace this connection and 
progress.” We have just seen the disciples warned 
against the danger of putting their trust in mere corporate 
relationship, without supplementing it by earnest endeavor 
after personal holiness and the doing of good works. 
Jesus now — without a break, and with an abruptness as 
startling as it is unusual, carried away as it were by the 
thought of His second coming, and by the desire that the 
Apostles should leave nothing undone to hasten it — goes 
on to urge upon the Twelve the utmost diligence in the 
use of the powers conferred upon them. If the moral of 
the preceding parable was vigilance ; that of this is dili- 
gence. For it is like a man going abroad , who called his 
own servants , and delivered unto them his goods. The con- 
nective particle “ For ” marks the continuance of the dis- 
course; the theme is the same — the time the same — the 
catastrophe the same. No new element is introduced. 
It is not needful consequently that any words should be 
added implying that the comparison is to be taken as 
having to do with the kingdom in its relation to the 
Parousia, and of the responsibility of the. Apostles in pre- 
paring the world for it.* 

First of all, then, it is to be noted how Jesus speaks of 
His departure as that of a Man going into a far country. 
In going away Jesus acts after the manner of men. It is 
as when He says, “ It is expedient for you that I go away.” 

* Goebel. 


RANK NOT WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY , i 


377 


There is a law of moral necessity involved in the act, 
arising out of the relations which spring out of the whole 
economy of the Incarnation. We have had it before 
noted how Homer, in “that wonderful epic which was 
for so many ages the Bible of the classic world, makes the 
hero of the poem appear only at the beginning of the 
action and the close, in order that the ‘excellence’ of 
each warrior, and of every nation, and 'every division of 
the host may be duly exercised and brought to view. So 
is it also in the sacred story. The Word — the Alpha and 
Omega — appears only at the beginning and the end. In 
the interval the various actors in the drama are men, 
the all-sustaining ‘arm’ being allowed to appear only at 
those eventful epochs, properly so called, which bring 
certain periods to a close, and so typify or prefigure the 
full appearing of God’s kingdom at the end of time.” We 
are not here, then, dealing with a mere figure of speech, 
but with a great economic principle. “ Absence from the 
disciples, distance of separation between the sphere of 
direct personal activity and His own, and lapse of a long 
period between the bestowal of the property and the 
season of reckoning, are all suggested by this introductory 
statement.” 

About to depart, the owner of the property “ called his 
own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.” The 
servants here are, properly speaking, “slaves,” and, not only 
so, but trusted familiar slaves ( tou ? IBlovs BovXovs). Not 
every servant of a master was entitled to be called his own 
servant. Owners of large estates in old times were ac- 


378 RANK NOT WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY . 


customed to deal in this way with tried family servants. 
They went away ; and hired out their property to them, 
leaving them to act according to their own judgment, and 
for the best interests of their master. So we are told that 
when Jesus “ascended up on high” He gave some, apos- 
tles ; and some, prophets ; and some, evangelists ; and 
some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, 
for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body 
of Christ.” * “ The servants, then, to whom the Lord en- 
trusted the administration of His goods before His depart- 
ure, according to the most exact and proper meaning of 
the parable,” as Thiersch observes, “ are the apostles and 
other office-bearers in the Christian Church, to whom the 
Lord has committed the fulness of spiritual grace to dis- 
pense to others.” Before committing the things, which 
by His infinite merit He had purchased, and which He 
was exalted to the right hand of the Father to bestow, 
Jesus, as we have seen, proved and tried His servants, and, 
having found them “ faithful,” He gave “ unto one five 
talents , to another two , and to another one ; to every one 
aceording to his several ability ,” in proportion as He 
deemed them qualified for larger, or for smaller responsi- 
bility. Now it is here to be noted, as marking the ad- 
vance in the parabolic series, that while the Apostles were 
represented before as a corporate body, attention is now 
called to the fact, that there was among the Twelve a great 
diversity of character and capability. Some were capable 
of greater things than others ; and according to the meas- 
* Eph. iv. 11, 12 


RANK NOT WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY. 379 


ure of the capacity of each, so is the nature of the gift of 
teaching, or government, or official rank bestowed upon 
them. We know, accordingly, that, among the Twelve, 
Peter, James, John, and Andrew held a first rank ; Philip, 
Bartholomew, Thomas, and Matthew came second ; while 
James, Lebbseus, Simon, and Judas are reckoned last. 
It was with the twelve Apostles, as with the four Evangel- 
ists. As the gift of inspiration did not take the place 
of the natural endowments of the sacred writer, but ac- 
commodated itself, so to speak, to the subjective condi- 
tions of mind and heart and expression in each, so, also, is 
it in the Church. There are “diversities” of gifts, varying 
according to the fitness of each. It is the same Spirit who 
confers the gift of organization and fits one man for ad- 
ministration and pastoral oversight, which makes another 
a parish priest ; or takes possession of the gift of language, 
and makes another an eloquent preacher. In every case, 
the Spirit who bestows the grace of official character, acts 
through the man, and avails himself of the peculiar endow- 
ments which fit him when proved for receiving the gift ; 
only we must be careful to discriminate between the gift 
itself and the fitness for the reception of the gift. The gift 
is of God, and is part and parcel of that fulness of which 
Christ received upon the day of the ascension, when the 
whole fulness of the Godhead was poured upon Him 
bodily ; the ability to use the gift, and the moral quali- 
ties needed to fit us for its reception, are our own, and 
are a condition required before the giving of the talent in 
trust. But the one is not the other, and we must not con- 


380 RANK NOT WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY. 


found the objective with the subjective. The great princi- 
ple, laid down at the outset, of the seed and the soil in the 
case of the individual, here also holds true in relation to 
the affairs of the kingdom. The kingdom of heaven is a 
spiritual kingdom, for the reason that in the conferring 
of official trust, as well as in the reception of the soul 
into the kingdom at the first, it always has respect to the 
individual and treats him as a moral agent. Jesus chose 
the twelve Apostles, and committed to them the trust of 
establishing His kingdom, because He had already proved 
them and found them (with the exception of Judas) to be 
“ faithful.” And having chosen them for His own ser- 
vants, He did not hesitate to entrust them with His 
“ goods.” He knew each man’s “ several ability,” and ac- 
cording to his ability, He placed at his disposal “ five,” or 
“ two,” or “ one ” talent, as might be, to use as he might 
think best, and to give an account of at the last. We do 
not satisfy the representation of the parable, in the dis- 
tinction it makes between the objective gift, and the sub- 
jective fitness for the reception and exercise of the gift, by 
speaking of the talents as virtues , which are to be used 
in the service of the kingdom. The view of the moral 
and spiritual world presented here, as elsewhere in Holy 
Scripture, is that of a vast and graduated arrangement of 
divine and delegated powers, by virtue of which angels 
and men are constituted to minister to others in the char- 
acter of divine representatives; they are sharers of the 
divine glory, and bear up the divine throne. As among 
angels there are archangels, cherubim, and seraphim ; and 


RANK NOT WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY. 381 

as among men there are judges and fathers of families, 
who are clothed with power, and are called by the name 
of Elohim, so is it also in the organic Church. The Pen- 
tecostal gift distributes itself in a variety of ways and 
ministrations; making the recipient, for the time being, 
the minister of God; and endowing him with power, ac- 
cording to his ability, to bring to its consummation the 
divine purpose. It is added, not without significance, 
“ and straightivay took his journey .” Not that our Mas- 
ter leaves us, as S. Thomas Aquinas pertinently remarks, 
but “ He leaves us to our unrestricted free-will.” So, also, 
Isaac Williams says : “ For as soon as these privileges are 
bestowed on each, then they are immediately left to their 
own free-will, and the Lord is, as it were, away, that they 
might use them or not, without constraint.” 

It will be seen that the “talents” of S. Matthew differ 
in many and fundamental particulars from the “ pounds ” 
of S. Luke. The largeness of the amount, and the variety 
observed in the distribution, prove that our Lord, in S. 
Matthew, is speaking of the goods entrusted to persons in- 
vested with large authority, and varying according to the 
work entrusted to each. It is not one pound, but a thou- 
sand pounds, at the very least, which in the five talents 
were committed to the servant’s trust. And in the case 
of the other two the amounts vary between some five 
hundred, and nearly three hundred pounds. “ To the 
Apostles, then, and to none other, the parable of the 
talents,” Archbishop Trench says, “was spoken; . . . 

it was first addressed to the Apostles alone, and the gifts 


382 RANK NOT WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY. 


for the exercise of the ministry, the powers which Christ 
has given to His Church, are signified, in the first place, 
by the committed talents.”* 

Having thus received their proportion of the property, 
the servants went forth to make use of it, each according 
to his will. This is made the special feature of the cen- 
tral portion of the parable. “ Then he that had received 
the five talents , went , and traded with the same , and made 
them other five talents .” Again have we brought to mind 
the buying of the field on the part of the seeker for hid 
treasure, and the trading of the pearl-merchant in search 
of the goodly pearls ; as well as the injunction, so often re- 
peated to the Apostles, that the light is not to be hidden 
under a “bed,” but placed on a “ candlestick and the say- 
ing that “ with what measure ye mete, it shall be meas- 
ured to you again.” The truth which Jesus would again 
impress upon the minds and hearts of the Apostles is, that 
Christian watchfulness does not consist in idle waiting, but 
in more diligent working inspired by the thought, that He 
who, upon His departure, had distributed His goods, will 
return again to see that the goods have not been wasted, 
and have been used for the purposes for which they were 
given. The true use to make of the thought of the 
second Advent is not listless expectation ; nor idle specu- 
lation about the time of the appearing; but earnest en- 
deavor to make the best of the time afforded us to put 
the talents entrusted to our keeping to good account. 
“ The element of industry,” Goebel observes, “ in opposi- 

* See also Wilkinson on the Parables , p. 514. 


RANK NOT WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY. 383 


tion to indolence, lying in the fundamental meaning of the 
verb ipyd^eadac, ought to be retained here in the special 
meaning to trade therefore : he seeks, with busy activ- 
ity, to use what he had received profitably.” The same 
writer notes that the word “ made,” * used in connection 
with the five talents, is not the word ordinarily adopted 
for making gain in general, as in the case of the man who 
“ gained ”f the two talents (ver. 17), but a word which cor- 
responds to the notion of labor in the acquisition of some- 
thing by means of one’s own efforts, as when a man is said 
to make money. 

But we have not only to note the fact that both, the 
man who received the “ five talents,” and the man who re- 
ceived the “ two talents,” increased what was given them : 
what is more especially noteworthy is that both made 
increase in the same proportion. He that received “ the 
five talents ” made other five talents, and “ likewise he 
that had received two , he also gained other two” The 
amount of the gift might differ, but the ratio of increase 
is the same. It is not enough to say in explanation of 
this portion of the parable, that we are to try to multi- 
ply and increase God’s gifts. Back of this lies the other 
truth, that it is of the nature of God’s gifts of grace 
to multiply themselves, and to make increase. There are 
men who do not believe in goodness ; they do not ac- 
knowledge, either as a principle of life or action, that a 
good deed, just because it is good , will do good, and make 
the world better for its being done. The man who re- 

f iKepdrjcrev. 


eTro'nqazv. 


384 RANK NOT WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY. 


ceived the one talent was this kind of man. He thought 
of God as “ an hard man,” who was to be served by giv- 
ing back to Him what He gave : as if it were the thing 
itself He cared for, and not the operative virtue revealed 
in its working. As it is in the parable of the Unmerci- 
ful Servant, who did not believe in the power and moral 
influence of forgiveness as an influence, and who conse- 
quently did not forgive, so also is it here. We must re- 
member that the gifts, which God bestows in His Church, 
are in their nature gifts of grace, and carry within them a 
fructifying energy and power, as a consequence thereof. 
All that is needful is that they be used, in order to make 
their virtue felt. The recipients of the “ five talents,” 
and of the “ two,” in marked contrast to him who did not 
look upon his talent as a gift of grace, went to work at 
once ; and their gifts doubled in the using. “ The grace 
of God,” Thiersch says, “ has this peculiarity, that by 
faithfulness and right distribution it is not lessened but 
increased. Whosoever communicates to others liberally, 
and in a legitimate way, what he has received, will not 
thereby become poorer, but, on the contrary, richer in 
knowledge and experience, faith, hope, and charity. The 
grace of God, at first deposited in the Apostles and first 
disciples, multiplies itself in the Christian Church, as from 
one light many others are kindled, or as capital laid out 
at interest by degrees doubles and multiplies itself. This 
increase, this propagation of His grace, it is that rejoices 
the Lord, and for which He will give a royal recompense 
to His faithful servants.” 


RANK NOT WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY. 


335 


In marked opposition to the faithful servants, stands 
the case of him who had received only “one” talent; and 
who, out of a spirit of slavish fear, and because he had no 
faith in the productive power of goodness, instead of put- 
ting his talent to use, “ went and digged in the earth , and 
hid his lord's money” The difference between trader and 
digger is worthy of note. The trader, like the pearl-mer- 
chant who exchanged the goodly pearls for the one pearl 
of great price, is one who takes risks, and is not afraid to 
make ventures. The digger in the ground, on the con- 
trary, is the stolid boor who holds on selfishly to all that 
he has, and will make no ventures, neither will he take any 
risks. The thing represented is the spirit of agricultural 
pursuit, which develops industry indeed, but without the 
aids of commerce and exchange is comparatively worth- 
less, since it abides alone. It is as when the Jews, in 
response to the invitation to come to the marriage, gave 
for answer that they have purchased a farm, and bought 
oxen, and taken a wife, and therefore cannot come. Farm- 
ing and ploughing and raising children are well enough in 
their way, but they are, nevertheless, selfish pursuits ; and, 
even in a worldly point of view, inferior to the callings 
which stimulate men’s intellectual powers, and by reason 
of the opportunities afforded for barter and exchange, 
bring East and West, North and South, and the remotest 
parts of the earth, together. It is added, not without 
purpose, that the digger in the earth “ hid his Lord's 
money!' It is implied that selfishness or jealousy had, for 
the time being, made the man forget whose the money 
2 5 


386 RANK NOT WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY. 

really was, and that he had received it not to keep, but to 
put it to use. The thought is still, that whatever be the 
nature of the gifts bestowed upon men for the work of the 
ministry, they are bestowed for the sake of others, and can- 
not, without breach of trust, be allowed to lie idle. “ As 
every man hath received the same, so let him minister the 
same, one to another, as good stewards of the manifold 
grace of God.” “ It is clear,” as Sadler remarks, “ that 
such a parable has particularly to do with the case of all 
in Holy Orders of any degree.” But if this be really so, 
the talents then cannot be mere natural gifts used for the 
honor and glory of God. A single illustration will make 
our meaning plain. A man may have the gift of oratory, 
but he is not, on that account, a preacher of the word. 
The grace of orders empowers a man to speak with au- 
thority, to rebuke as well as to exhort. Now, if he who 
is empowered to do so, does not rebuke when he ought to 
rebuke : if he does not claim authority over the conscience 
as well as appeal to the intellect and the heart, he is not a 
true preacher of the word which is like a two-edged sword ; 
and in so far as he neglects his duty in this particular he 
is not putting to use his Lord’s money. And the same is 
true of the power of the priest. If the grace of absolution 
be indeed a grace conferred for the healing of the con- 
science, and the reconciling of the sinner to God, the priest 
who does not call into active exercise the power conferred 
upon him in his ordination, is like the man who put his 
talent in the earth, and hid his lord’s money. It is surely 
an awful thought, that if divine powers be really be- 


RANK NOT WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY. 387 


stowed in the grace of orders, the denial or neglect of the 
gift involves us in the punishment of those who have 
had divine authority and power bestowed upon them, but 
through unbelief or sloth have failed to make men better 
for the gift. 

The parable now passes into its final or concluding 
stage. As the bridegroom tarried, and it was late at night 
before he came back for the. wedding, so the householder 
who goes into a far country takes a long time before he 
returns to take account of his servants. And why should 
he be in a hurry to return ? Surely the property is 
better to be passing from hand to hand, rather than to be 
lying idle and unproductive ! It is like the multiplying 
of the loaves and fishes, and the way in which it was 
done. Jesus took bread and distributed to the disci- 
ples, and the disciples to the multitude. So also in the 
economy of grace and in the wonderful arrangement of 
His providential dealings with men, God calls men into 
union with Himself, puts His gifts in their hands, and 
bids them increase them for their own good and for the 
good of others. “ And so he that had received five talents , 
came, and brought other five talents , saying , Lord, thou 
deliver edst unto me five talents ; behold , I have gained be- 
sides them five talents more.” These words prove conclu- 
sively the position taken, that the “talents” of the parable 
are not natural gifts or powers, nor subjective virtues or 
graces of any kind, but gifts or powers conferred for the 
discharge of duties connected with official trust. The 
man who had received the five talents brings not the 


383 


RANK NOT WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY. 


same, but other five talents ; he brings, in addition to what 
he had received, “ five talents more.” One might increase 
their natural gifts or powers, but it is not in their power 
to make other gifts and powers in addition to those which 
they had already received. The attitude and language of 
the “good and faithful servant,” stand in marked contrast 
to the attitude and language of the “ wicked and slothful 
servant.” He acknowledges that he has nothing but that 
which he has already received ; he arrogates nothing to 
himself, but speaks of that which had been delivered unto 
him. He does not put forward the work that he had 
done, but makes that which he had received the ground- 
work of that which he had gained. 

But if the servant is humble the Master is magnani- 
mous. His first word is a word of eulogy, “ Well done 
his second is one of acknowledgment to his “ good and 
faithful servant ; ” his third is one of promise and re- 
ward : Over a little thou wast faithful , over much will I 
set thee. To what do the “much” and the “ little” here 
refer ? 

Olshausen suggests the true explanation. They who 
have been faithful to their Lord and Master, when 
the kingdom had little or nothing to offer them in the 
way of extended labor or reward, will be called to a 
higher sphere of activity adapted to their desires. It is 
never to be forgotten that the kingdom, during our Lord’s 
own earthly sojourn had only shame and humiliation at- 
tached to it. Before Jesus could receive the crown He 
must submit to the ignominy of the cross. It was then 


RANK NOT WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY. 389 


that the multitudes who had crowded upon Him forsook 
Him and fled. The cross, to leaders and people alike, 
was an offence they could not get over. It was only the 
faithful few who believed in Him and in His promises, in 
that hour. Well then might He promise them — in view of 
His resurrection and ascension, and the outpouring of the 
Spirit, and the future triumphs of His kingdom — that a day 
is coming, when the faithful in a few things will be made 
rulers over many things. They whose faith shall survive 
the events of which the awful scene of the crucifixion 
is to be the prelude, will be saved from the calamities 
which are soon to fall upon the doomed city, and will 
“enter” into “the joy” of their “Lord.” If they have 
been partakers of His shame and sharers in His trials, they 
will also be partakers of His glory, and will share in the 
triumph which is to follow upon His ascension into the 
heavens. The servant whose “ two talents ” likewise 
gained “ two talents,” receives the same commendation, 
and is promised the same reward as he who made the “ five 
talents.” The reason for his introduction, and for the 
repetition of the story in his case, would appear to be to 
take away all excuse for the negligence and sloth of the 
wicked servant, who made his receiving of the “ one tal- 
ent ” an excuse for not seeking to increase his Lord’s 
money. It is another instance of the art which is so 
often to be found in the arrangement of details, with a 
view of bringing out into greater prominence, in the con- 
clusion, the special feature of interest to which all has 
been leading up from the very beginning. 


390 RANK NOT WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY. 


“ Then he which received the one talent , came , and said , 
Lord , I knew thee that thou art an hard man , reaping 
where thou hast not sown , and gathering where thou hast 
not strawed : and I was afraid , and went and hid thy 
talent in the earth. Lo> there thou hast that is thine.” It is 
the servile spirit of the Jew which speaks in these words, 
the same spirit which in the parable of the Vineyard Let 
Out to Husbandmen complains of “bearing the burden and 
heat of the day.” Olshausen is here on the right track 
when he says, “ The manner in which the parable speaks 
of the third servant is peculiar ; without having gained 
anything, he brought back to the Lord what was entrusted 
to him. It is evident that the design is not to describe a 
man entirely fallen from the faith, an apostate ; but one 
who, although he has not dissolved his connection as a 
servant, or squandered his talent, yet, from a false view 
of his relation to the Lord, has not used it to his advan- 
tage. Hence he is called (ver. 30) SovXos a^peZo?, unprofit- 
able servant ; so that he is regarded as a servant of the 
Lord, although one who has not done his duty. His 
false view of the Lord consisted in overlooking His love, 
and supposing, instead, an inexorable legal rigor.” Once 
again, and for the last time, Jesus is warning His dis- 
ciples against the legal spirit which he knew to be native 
to the heart of the Jew, and from which the twelve 
were not yet entirely free. They had still worldly and 
Jewish notions about the Messianic kingdom. They 
would naturally be disposed to confine it to the city 
of Jerusalem ; and to indulge in the selfish and exclusive 


RANK NOT WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY. 


39 1 


views of those who, instead of regarding the privileges 
conferred upon the Jew as a sacred trust for the rest of 
the world, made their own servile and legal spirit an 
excuse for not engaging in missionary, enterprise. The 
complaint of the slothful servant that “ the householder 
appropriates the produce where he has not done the work” 
is made in the servile spirit of the law. He will not work 
for others, because the benefit will not be his, but is to re- 
dound to the glory and praise of his lord and master. “ He 
who has a childlike confidence in God, would gladly do as 
much as possible for Him. He who has it not, but in the 
bottom of his heart is conscious of slavish anxiety before 
God, will always render the least possible service.” In the 
fear expressed by the unprofitable servant, lest he should 
in some venture lose the talent, and not be able to return 
it again to the owner, we have an exquisite analysis of the 
working of the servile spirit in religion. Men are afraid 
that the grace of God will be abused, and so they refrain 
from taking part in this or that form of active work for 
the extension of the kingdom. What is this but to mis- 
take the spirit of the Master ? What He considers is 
not the loss of the grace, but the love and the devotion 
which accounts no venture too great if only the erring can 
be brought back again. When the servant in defence says, 
“ Lo , there thou hast that is thine? he in reality only sealed 
his own condemnation. He proved that he did not look 
upon his talent as a gift of grace given not for keeping, 
but for using. He thought of God as one who is selfish, 
like unto himself. Out of his own mouth, then, his master 


39 2 


RANK NOT WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY. 


proceeds to condemn him. If he did not choose to put the 
talent to use himself, why did he not place it in the hands 
of others, who would have been only too glad to put it out 
to interest ? This, upon his own view of the case, he wks 
bound to do. If he knew that his Lord looked for increase, 
and would not be satisfied without it, why had not he put 
the money where it could have been put to use. He was 
bound to get rid of it and give it to another. But this 
was just what the Jewish hierarchy would not do. They 
would neither use the talent bestowed upon them for others, 
nor would they allow others to do it. It is a thought 
which is developed more at large in the parable of the 
Pounds in S. Luke’s Gospel. There the reference to 
the Jewish economy is purposely made prominent, while 
here it is purposely concealed. The complaint which the 
husbandman makes against the barren fig-tree is that it 
a cumbereth the ground ; ” it is occupying the place and 
exhausting the soil, where a fruit-bearing tree might 
be repaying the owner for the care and labor bestowed 
upon it. The application to the Apostles themselves, 
and to such as are called to the work of the ministry, 
is plain. Goebel puts it admirably when he says, “a 
disciple to whom the requirement of self-denying labor 
in the Lord’s service seems an unreasonable hardship, 
and who therefore cannot consent to join in the work 
of preaching and extending His word, is under obligation 
to withdraw from the ministiy of the word, and, so far 
as it was entrusted to him, to hand it over to those ready 
to work with it, and bear to the Lord the fruit He desires. 


RANK NOT WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY. 


393 


Here it is implied that as people are always found in 
the sphere of earthly business willing to undertake the 
employment of money which the first possessors desire to 
get rid of, so in the sphere of labor in God’s kingdom the 
work of the Lord, even when individual disciples renounce 
it and give up the Lord’s service, will always find willing 
hearts and hands enough ready to take their place and 
do the work they have refused. . . . He that stands 

aloof from the Lord’s cause, as selfishly as the servant 
from the householder, to whom the claim of the Lord on 
His disciples to give up their whole time and strength in 
unselfish labor to His service seems an intolerable hard- 
ship, so that he cannot persuade himself to comply with 
such a demand, he will be so little justified by continuing 
to pass for a confessor and advocate of Christ’s word, and 
thus uselessly preserving the treasure entrusted to him, 
that, on the contrary, he would be less guilty were he to 
renounce the work, hand over his duty to others, and 
thus, at least, not positively injure the Lord’s cause. 
This is the meaning of the refutation of the servant’s 
attempt at self-justification. Of similar import are all 
those utterances of Jesus in which He lays stress on the 
gravity of the demands which He makes on His disci- 
ples, with the unmistakable purpose of severing the half- 
hearted and selfish, to whom this must seem intolera- 
ble hardness, from the circle of His disciples. To this 
class especially belong the section (Luke xiv. 25-33), 
where, in the parabolic sayings of the cost of build- 
ing a tower and the means of waging a war, the exhorta- 


394 RANK NOT WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY. 


tion is plainly expressed that it is better to abstain from 
being a disciple altogether than not to comply with 
the demand for complete self-denial inseparable from the 
disciple’s position. The first would be better for the 
man than the second.” 

The punishment inflicted on “ the unprofitable servant ” 
is in keeping with all that has gone before. The command 
is given to take from him “ the talent ,” which he has kept 
with such care, “ and give it unto him which hath ten 
talents and the reason given is, u For unto every one 
that hath shall be given , and he shall have abundance: 
but from him that hath not shall be taken away , even that 
which he hath .” The talent must not be allowed to go to 
waste ; and it is given unto him who by his past faith- 
fulness has proved that he will put it to the greatest use. 
But if the “ talent ” be the goods bestowed upon such as 
are called to the ministry for the carrying out of the work 
to which they have been called, the application must refer 
to this world and not to the next. The meaning is, that 
the place and opportunities which have been so selfishly 
held without profit, are taken out of the possession of 
those who have not applied them to the purposes for 
which they were created, and are to be placed in charge of 
those who will use them to the greatest advantage. It is 
taken from the one because he is unprofitable, and as he 
had already shown that he can make no use of it ; and it 
is given to the other because he had shown that he can 
make most use of it. Both facts indicate most forcibly 
the urgency of the demand for work and profit ; and, we 


RANK NOT WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY. 395 


may add, both facts are in most exact accord with the 
moral order of the world as revealed in human history.” * 
The end of the “ unprofitable servant ” is that he is to 
be “ cast into outer darkness ,” where “ shall be weeping and 
gnashing of teeth? “ Outer darkness,” according to Ols- 
hausen, “ is opposed to domestic light, as in ancient times 
feasts were held commonly in the night, Christ represents 
those who are cast out of the kingdom of God as thrust 
forth into the darkness.” The weeping and the gnashing 
of teeth are occasioned by the lost opportunities which can 
never be recalled. It is precisely the same teaching as in 
the parable of the Ten Virgins. The burden of both in 
the doom they pronounce is, Too late ! Too late ! 

* Bruce on The Parabolic Teaching of Christ , p. 207. 








XVII. 


^Ixe Jtoep mxcl tlxe (Scats. 


THE FINAL SEPARATION. 




















































































































































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XVII. 


QXxz ^Ixcjepr atul tlxc (fkrats. 


THE 'NATIONS WILL BE JUDGED , EVEN AS JERUSALEM. 


When the Son of man shall come in his 
glory, and all the holy angels with him, then 
shall he sit upon the throne of his glory : 
and before him shall be gathered all (the) na- 
tions ; and he shall separate them one from an- 
other, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from 
the goats : and he shall set the sheep on his 
right hand, but the goats on the left. Then 
shall the king say unto them on his right 
hand. Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit 
the kingdom prepared for you from the foun- 
dation of the world : for I was an hungered, 
•aird ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye 
gave me drink : I was a stranger and ye took 
me in : naked, and ye clothed me : I was sick, 
and ye visited me : I was in prison, and ye 
came unto me. Then shall the righteous an- 
swer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee 
an hungered, and fed thee ? or thirsty, and 
gave thee drink ? When saw we thee a stran- 
ger, and took thee in ? or naked, and clothed 
thee ? Or when saw we thee sick, or in 


prison, and came unto thee? And the king 
shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say 
unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto 
one of the least of these my brethren, ye have 
done it unto me. Then shall he say also 
unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, 
ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for 
the devil and his angels : for I was an hun- 
gered, and ye gave me no meat : I was thirsty, 
and ye gave me no drink : I was a stranger, 
and ye took me not in : naked, and ye clothed 
me not : sick, and in prison, and ye visited 
me not. Then shall they also answer him, 
saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, 
or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, 
or in prison, and did not minister unto thee ? 
Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily 
I say unto you. Inasmuch as ye did it not 
to one of the least of these, ye did it not to 
me. And these shall go away into everlast- 
ing punishment : but the righteous into life 
eternal. — S. Matt. xxv. 31-46. 


The picture of the last times is not yet complete. 
In what is added it is dealt with in such a fragmentary 
way, that some have doubted whether we are here deal- 
ing with a parable at all. But the abruptness of the 
transition, and the lack of finish in the representation, are 
to be accounted for from the fact, that our Lord is here 
dealing with a subject which had to be treated rather as 


400 


THE NATIONS WILL BE JUDGED. 


a prophecy than a parable. It was the universal expecta- 
tion of the Jews, that the complete and final manifesta- 
tion of the Messianic kingdom would follow immediately 
after the judgment upon Jerusalem. Prophecy knows no 
perspective. S. Matthew accordingly represents the judg- 
ment upon the world as following immediately upon the 
downfall of the Holy City. And it is a correct represen- 
tation, if we regard the punishment which fell upon the 
Jews for their rejection of the Messiah, as only the first 
among a series of similar judgments which are to ensue, 
until all the nations of the earth in turn shall meet with a 
like fate, and for a similar cause. It is this truth which 
now comes to view in the picture here presented of the 
judgment upon the nations. It is only a half truth, but 
so far it contains a warning which is in keeping with 
the whole view of things now brought before us. S. 
Luke, as was natural (chap. xxi. 24), introduces the con- 
version of the Gentile nations between the destruction 
of the Holy City and the last judgment; but S. Mat- 
thew omits all mention of the conversion of the Gen- 
tiles as something foreign to his subject, and speaks only 
of the witness which the Apostles are to be called upon to 
make, and of the sufferings they are to endure, at the 
hands of kings and rulers and persons in authority, for 
the testimony which they are to bear to the truth as it is 
in Jesus. The conversion of the Gentiles, and their in- 
troduction into the kingdom, was a notion which the Jews 
found it hard to entertain ; and it is one, it will be ob- 
served, which does not come within the range of the truth 


EVEN AS JERUSALEM. 


401 


which our Lord is now urging upon His disciples. He 
says enough to intimate that there is to be a judgment of 
the nations different from the judgment upon Jerusalem. 
There will be another coming, different from that which 
is to take place within the limits of the generation then 
living. Before the end can come, the Gospel must be 
preached among all nations , # for a witness unto them. 
The Apostles are to be “ brought before governors and 
kings, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.” t 
“He that receiveth you,”J it is added, “ receiveth me : 
and he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me. 
He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet, 
shall receive a prophet’s reward ; and he that receiveth a 
righteous man in the name of a righteous man, shall re- 
ceive a righteous man’s reward. And whosoever shall give 
to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water 

c 

only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, He 
shall in no wise lose his reward.” Beyond this general 
statement of the witness which the Apostles are to be 
called upon to bear after their Lord’s departure, S. Mat- 
thew does not feel called upon to enlarge. He gives no 
limit of the length of time which is to elapse between our 
Lord’s departure and His coming again. He takes no ac- 
count of the slowness of the work, nor of the lapse of 
ages which must pass away before the evangelizing of the 
nations can be accomplished, and the world made ripe 
for judgment. 

It will be manifest, accordingly, why it is that in the 

* S. Matt. xxiv. 14. f S. Matt. x. 18. % S. Matt. x. 40-42. 

26 


402 


THE NATIONS WILL BE JUDGED 


parable which completes the cycle of the last things our 
Lord confines Himself (i) to the statement of the judg- 
ments upon “ the nations ; ” (2) to the separation which is 
to be effected by the preaching of the Gospel between 
those who are of the number of His “sheep,” and the proud 
scoffers, who, after the usual manner of representation of 
Holy Scripture in its description of the world-power, are 
reckoned among the “ goats ; ” and (3) to the works of 
mercy which are done in behalf of those who go forth as 
His representatives, and which He rewards, or (if left un- 
done) punishes, as done unto Himself. 

It would be unprofitable here to go into a lengthened 
discussion of the variety of conflicting opinions which 
have arisen out of the neglect of the few simple principles 
of interpretation which have been already laid down. It is 
sufficient to say that the “ nations ” which are here spoken 
of are not the heathen as such, but the nations regarded as 
subjects of conversion , and held responsible for the way in 
which they shall treat the messengers of the king, who, in 
the person of his officers, comes to claim their homage. 
The simple truth which the parable seeks to represent is, 
that as the people of the Jews are to be held to a strict ac- 
count for the way they received the Master, so the nations 
of the world will be held to a similar account for the way 
in which they shall treat His representatives. Beyond 
this the parable says not. The solemn truth which it is 
the aim of our Lord to enforce is, that apart altogether 
from the conversion of the world and the setting up of the 
Church for the training of believers, the preaching of the 


EVEN AS JERUSALEM. 


403 


Gospel will be for judgment as well as for salvation. The 
relation which men will bear to its messengers, in the way 
of hostility or of sympathy, will be of the nature of a final 
test ; and will, at last, be made the criterion by which they 
will be accounted worthy of eternal reward or of final re- 
jection. And the test, it will be observed, is not one of 
mere theoretical belief, nor of the reception or rejection of 
certain dogmas, but it is that of good works, done to those 
who appear before them as representatives of Him who 
has gone to take possession of His throne. What our 
Lord would have the Apostles know and feel is, that 
there are “ other sheep,” besides those which belong to the 
fold of Israel, which in time are to be gathered in ; and 
there are other proud ones, besides the rulers and high- 
priests of Israel, who in time are to be proved by the en- 
forcing of the claims of Him who is the world’s true 
king. 

Nor is it of individuals, or of members of the Church 
as such, that the parable speaks. It goes no further than 
the statement of the general truth which it was necessary 
for the Apostles thoroughly to receive, if they were ever to 
accomplish the task which was set before them : they must 
believe that the nations of the world are proper subjects 
of conversion, and that they are to be held responsible at 
the last for the way in which they shall receive the mes- 
sengers sent to make to them the offer of the Gospel. 
The warning held forth is that there are national judg- 
ments — judgments upon men in their national and public 
relations, as well as in their private capacity. There is 


404 


THE NATIONS WILL BE JUDGED 


such a thing as national apostasy, even as churches may 
fall from grace. 

It will be evident why such corporal works of mercy as 
the feeding of the hungry, and the clothing of the naked, 
and the visiting of the sick, and the ministering to prison- 
ers are specially mentioned. The immediate reference is 
to the era of the persecutions and the sufferings which 
the Apostles and early Christians had to endure for their 
testimony to the truth. This is manifest from the words, 
“ Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of 
these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” But the 
spirit of the world never changes ; and, in every age, bear- 
ing witness to the truth as it is in Jesus meets with the 
same reward. We have seen in our own day, in France 
and England, bishops and priests cast into prison, and 
called upon to surrender up their lives, for no other reason 
than that they would bear witness to the truth. France 
is a sad and terrible instance of national apostasy, and 
England, if the mercy of God prevent it not, would seem 
destined, before long, to follow in her wake. The rewards 
of this world are still for the men who will compromise 
the truth : its penalties, in the way of poverty and neglect 
and indifference, are still meted out, as they have ever 
been, to those who, in evil report and good report, are 
faithful to Him who sent them. 

It will be noted, as bearing upon the question of eternal 
punishment, that the same language precisely is used in 
speaking of the place “ prepared ” for the punishment of 
the wicked, and for the reward of the righteous. It is the 


EVEN AS JERUSALEM. 


405 


same righteous judge who makes ready the everlasting fire 
“for the devil and his angels ,” and “the kingdom ” had in 
readiness for the faithful, “from the foundation of the 
world.” If the one sphere be eternal ; the other, as Meyer 
observes, must be eternal also. There is no evading the 
nature and extent of the punishment here described. It is 
not a mere subjective punishment, in which one reaps the 
consequences of their own deeds, but a punishment or- 
dered and arranged by God Himself. It is, moreover, the 
same punishment to which the devil and his angels are 
doomed as a consequence of their transgression. If Satan 
and his kingdom be objective, so also the punishment of 
those who are sharers with him in his rebellion is some- 
thing objective. Nor is the doom here pronounced, as it 
is sometimes represented, the condemnation which follows 
upon mere unbelief ; or the rejection of this or that dogma 
of the faith. It is the adjustment of the relation between 
the temporary triumph of the wicked, and the sufferings 
of the righteous for the truth’s sake at their hands. The 
world changes not. The era of the persecutions has out- 
wardly passed away. The conflict is no longer with the 
powers of darkness, sitting enthroned in the high places of 
pagan superstition. But the spirit of the world, as such, 
never changes. It may manifest itself in the cruel sports 
of the Roman amphitheatre, when the Christians were 
ground beneath the teeth of the lions ; or it may appear 
under the form of a leopard, with all the grace and sup- 
pleness of modern Antichristian civilization, watching for 
the opportunity to pounce upon its prey. However the 


4 06 THE NATIONS WILL BE JUDGED AS JERUSALEM . 


outward appearance may change, the spirit of the world is 
still the spirit of the beast : and as such is in deadly an- 
tagonism to the spirit of Christ and of His Church. 


NOTES. 

Ver. 31. — Olshausen observes that the parables of the Virgins and the 
Servants, are, “so to speak, co-ordinate,” while that of the Sheep and 
the Goats “appears to be destined for quite another view.” This is shown, 
first, by the form of transition (ver. 31), oray 8e, but when , which introduces 
something new and different, whereas the second parable is connected with 
the first by a uairep yap, Jor just as, and the first with chapt. xxiv. by a rbre, 
then. Then, secondly, the expressions, virgin, servant, plainly indicate a 
special relationship to the Redeemer ; hence, in the first and second par- 
ables, the reference is not to men, without distinction, but to the children of 
the kingdom, concerning whose judgment and fidelity judgment is passed. 
In the third, on the contrary, all nations appear before the judgment-seat of 
Christ, with the exception of true believers (ndvra to edvr], ver. 32). Some 
of the oldest MSS., and many versions (including the Vulgate, which has 
omnes angeli) omit 07 tot : the Syriac retains it. 
























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